‘Never raised H-1B green card issue with US’: Piyush Goyal says fewer work visas ‘good’ for India

Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday deemed fewer H-1B visas for Indians as “good” for the country's economy, while stating that he had never raised the H-1B and green card issue with the United States over the past 7.5 years.

The remarks come following continuous scrutiny of the H-1B program by the Donald Trump-led administration in the US. In its latest effort to block immigrant workers, America, earlier this week, suspended issuing crucial certificates to leading Indian IT services companies—including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Ltd—which are required for H-1B workers to seek green cards.

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Goyal says fewer H-1B visas good for Indian economy, explains why

Goyal said that he has several times gone on record to say that he has never raised the issue of H-1B visas and green cards in his talks with the Trump administration officials during his tenure as commerce and industry minister over the last 7.5 years.

“Immigration is not directly related to trade. What relates to trade is mobility and mobility to provide a service where essential – every country has the right to monitor and regulate. We would not like people from across the world having open access to our country,” Goyal stated. He further said that he personally believes that “not getting more H-1B visas is absolutely good for the Indian economy.” He said this was “good news”, explaining the reasoning behind this.

“Some of our best talent over the last particularly 25-30 years has gone away to the US. And when I go and meet the diaspora there, and I see the billionaires of Indian origin literally down every street, I wonder what could have happened if all of them had been doing their businesses and research in India,” the Union commerce an industry minister said.

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US suspends IT firms' green card PERM processing for IT firms

Goyal's remarks come even as the US cracked down on Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini, suspending them from green card filings.

“I am hereby suspending from the permanent labor certification program, some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini; and also due to multiple active federal investigations, the department of labor is suspending Microsoft and Adobe from the program,” US secretary of labour Keith Sonderling said. He further added, “So, what does this mean? We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies.”

The Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) process is the first step in applying for a green card, and a US employer is required to obtain labour certification through this. When filing the PERM application, the employer must advertise the job opening, consider applicants, document why qualified US workers were not selected, and prove that hiring a foreign worker will not hurt wages or working conditions for American workers. Once the Department of Labor approves the PERM certification, the employer can then file an immigration petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

This is not the first time the Trump immigration has moved to reduce immigration, having also imposed a $100,00 one-time H-1B processing fee on H-1B visas in September last year. Last month, he extended this measure for another year, until September 21, 2027.

The H-1B program allows US employers to hire skilled foreign workers, including professionals in the technology sector, for jobs in the country for several years.