‘US history shaped by immigrants’: India calls out JD Vance over ‘deeply offensive’ H-1B visa remarks

India on Friday called out US Vice President JD Vance over his comments in the context of United States' decision to suspend applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for certain companies.

India said the descriptions of Indian professionals were "unwarranted" and ignored their contributions to the American economy and innovation ecosystem.

US Vice President JD Vance accused companies of using H-1B visa holders to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees, describing them as “foreign indentured servants” in remarks on October 8.

In a video message addressing Microsoft and other companies affected by the US suspension of the PERM green-card programme, Vance said, “You cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.”

MEA on US's PERM decision

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Friday the US suspension of applications under the PERM programme for certain companies will not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas, but could impact the green-card process for eligible employees of the affected firms.

Under the PERM decision, the US Department of Labor has suspended the processing of pending applications and stopped accepting new applications under the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for eight firms, including Indian IT companies Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and HCL Technologies. Other IT and technology firms on the list are - Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe.

Talent mobility benefits both countries by helping US companies access skilled professionals who contribute to innovation, research, productivity and job creation, the MEA said. It added that the steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of the two countries.

“It should be noted that PERM is distinct from the H-1B visa programme. The suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of H-1B visa holders and their dependents, though there could be some impact on the permanent-residency/Green Card process of eligible employees of the affected companies,” the MEA stated.

India calls out Vance

Reacting to comments by the US Vice President in the context of the decision, India said the descriptions of Indian professionals were "unwarranted" and ignored their contributions to the American economy and innovation ecosystem.

“We have also seen some comments in this context by the US Vice President. We believe that such descriptions are unwarranted and ignore the fact that Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem," the MEA stated.

Indeed, the history of the United States itself has been shaped by generations of immigrants whose labour, enterprise and innovation have contributed to its growth and prosperity, it said.

Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive, the MEA said.