New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- Microsoft on Thursday defended its hiring practices after the US government suspended the company from its employment-based green card programme, saying most of its American workforce is US citizens and that the majority of its recent H-1B visa applications were for existing employees.

"The vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans," the company said in a statement on Thursday, responding to Vice President JD Vance's allegations that it had replaced American workers with foreign employees.

"Of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees," Microsoft said.

The company ...