REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft says most of its U.S. employees are Americans and most of its recent H-1B visa filings were for people already working at the company, after the Trump administration suspended the software giant and seven other companies from a federal green-card sponsorship program. Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that Microsoft, Adobe and six outsourcing firms would no longer be able to submit applications or have pending cases processed through the Permanent Labor Certification Program, known as PERM. The administration accused the companies of using visa programs to replace U.S. workers with lower-paid foreign employees. Microsoft said it filed about 6,000 H-1B applications in the last fiscal year. In a statement, the company said 80% were to extend or change the immigration status of existing employees. The remaining applications were for people already legally in the United States who chose to join Microsoft, the company said, amounting to about 1% of its U.S. workforce. The company also said it pays H-1B workers the same as other employees in comparable roles and that its visa petitions are for candidates who meet the program’s requirements. Microsoft said it plans to provide more information to the administration. Vance cited Microsoft layoffs as part of the administration’s case, saying the company had cut 6,000 U.S. jobs last year while receiving 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards. He said companies should not lay off U.S. workers and then replace them with foreign workers. Microsoft is among the country’s largest H-1B employers, ranking fifth in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data; Amazon ranks first. H-1B visas are intended for specialized, high-skilled jobs, and technology companies account for much of their use. PERM is a separate process through which employers seek labor certification to sponsor workers for permanent residency. The suspension puts a federal immigration enforcement action directly before a major Eastside employer and its workforce. Microsoft’s account and the administration’s allegations offer sharply different interpretations of the company’s visa use; the administration’s announcement did not establish that the allegations had been proven.