By Matthew Brown
Publication Date: 2026-10-09 23:09:00
The Trump administration announced Thursday that several major tech companies with Bay Area ties were subject to a new crackdown on a visa program for skilled foreign workers.
Bay Area-headquartered Adobe and Washington state-headquartered Microsoft, which has offices in San Francisco, Berkeley and Mountain View, were among the most notable companies suspended from applying for green card sponsorships through the permanent labor certification program, known as PERM. The program enables companies to hire people who are not U.S. citizens to live and work permanently in the United States.
During a Thursday news conference, Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling alleged that companies were abusing the policy, giving workers a direct path to citizenship while passing on American labor. PERM applications can take nearly a year to process, according to the Department of Labor.
The suspension also includes large IT outsourcing companies and consulting firms Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL…
