India calls JD Vance’s “indentured servants” remark on H-1B workers “deeply offensive”

India has called US Vice President JD Vance’s description of H-1B visa workers as “indentured servants” “deeply offensive”, saying the term carries painful colonial-era connotations. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made the statement in New Delhi on Friday, 9 October.

What Vance said

Vance made the remarks on Thursday, 8 October, at a news conference on visa fraud. He accused foreign outsourcing firms of using the visa system to cut labour costs and replace American workers with lower-paid foreign staff.

You bring in indentured servants from outside the country.

JD Vance, US Vice President, as quoted by The Federal

According to ANI, Vance claimed that H-1B workers earn $20,000 less than a comparable American citizen, and that workers brought in by outsourcing firms earn $48,000 less.

India’s response

In its statement, the MEA said such descriptions were “unwarranted” and ignored the contribution of Indian professionals, whom it called “highly educated and skilled contributors” to the US economy and its innovation ecosystem, The Federal reported.

Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive.

Ministry of External Affairs statement, as reported by ANI

The ministry said talent mobility benefits both countries and that the steps announced by the US “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries”. It said it would keep following developments.

The green card suspension behind the row

The remarks came as the US Department of Labor suspended several companies from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme, a key step in employer-sponsored green cards. The Daily Rostrum reported on the suspension on 9 October.

• Companies named include Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, along with Microsoft and Adobe, according to ANI
• US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling cited multiple active federal investigations
• Sonderling said the companies had together sought almost 30 lakh (3 million) foreign workers since 2009, received over 2.3 lakh H-1B approvals and over 1 lakh PERM certifications, ANI reported

What it means for Indian workers

The MEA said PERM is separate from the H-1B programme. The suspension does not by itself affect existing H-1B visas or the status of visa holders, but it could affect green card processing for eligible employees of the companies involved.

ANI also reported that a day before the PERM announcement, the US Department of Homeland Security proposed new fees for F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT), a route used by many Indian students in the US.

Sources: ANI, The Federal.