New Delhi: India condemned US Vice President J.D. Vance's reference to foreign workers as "foreign indentured servants," calling the remarks deeply offensive while expressing disappointment over the suspension of Indian IT firms like Wipro and Infosys from a green card programme.
"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," said the Ministry of External Affairs in reaction to Vance's description of software workers.
It noted that the generations of immigrants have shaped the United States and their "labour, enterprise and innovation have contributed to its growth and prosperity." It added: "Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive."
The MEA reacted to the Trump administration's latest step to tighten immigration rules and reduce the number of foreign workers moving to the US and gaining citizenship.
Vice President J.D. Vance, Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Thursday that they were suspending eight IT firms from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme, which allows companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers.
Vance accused Microsoft of replacing American workers with "foreign indentured servants". He levelled the same allegations against Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. "No company in the US has abused this system more than Microsoft," Vance said.
Sonderling added that the companies along with US universities had turned into "visa mills" bringing in foreign workers into the country.
Countering the White House narrative, Microsoft revealed that a majority of the H-1B visas that were filed in the last financial year were for existing workers, earning the same pay as local staff. In India, the National Association of Software and Service Companies noted that only a limited number of employees of Indian IT firms applied through the programme. It also highlighted how Indian firms had increased local hiring and created jobs in the US.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, nearly 70 per cent of H-1B visas issued in 2025 went to Indians. in the United States.
This latest announcement, coupled with the rhetoric, has added to the existing strain in India-US economic ties, which are going through their most challenging period as the two countries struggle to clinch a trade deal. It also comes at a time when India has continued to clinch mobility pacts with a range of countries to create legal pathways for Indian workers keen on working overseas. In this backdrop, the MEA also expressed disappointment with the US decision to tighten these legal pathways, noting that talent mobility adds value to both economies.
"It should also be clear that talent mobility adds value to both economies. While it creates opportunities for Indians, it equally helps US companies with cutting-edge talent, innovation, research, productivity, competitiveness and job creation, besides creating shareholder wealth in the US," said the MEA.
"The steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries."
The ministry also clarified that the Green Card programme is different from the H-1B visa programme. It noted that it would not impact the validity of existing H-1B visas but added that "there could be some impact on the permanent-residency/Green Card process of eligible employees of the affected companies."