NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Friday slammed US vice-president JD Vance over his description of H-1B visa workers as “indentured servants”, calling his remarks “unwarranted” and “deeply offensive”.In a statement, responding to Vance’s comments, the ministry said, “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 also highlighted the contribution of immigrants to the US economy, saying, “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.”“Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” it added.Vance made the remarks while addressing a news conference on visa fraud, alleging that companies bring in foreign workers at lower wages while laying off American employees.“If you are working as an H-1B visa in the United States of America, you’re earning $20,000 less than an American citizen hired in the same position. If you were brought in by one of these foreign outsourcing firms, you’re making $48,000 less than an American citizen in a similar position,” Vance said.“So, I’m sure that everybody here understands the game that is being played. You bring in indentured servants from outside the country, you lay off American workers and, if you’re a corporation, you make a ton of money by under cutting the wages of American workers, replacing them with people who frankly shouldn’t be in the United States of America to begin with,” he added.The MEA said that it was aware of the US department of labor’s decision concerning the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for certain companies.“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,” the statement said.“This is therefore an area of tremendous mutual benefit for the two countries and our expectation is that all stakeholders in this process can appreciate this fact. The steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries,” it added.The MEA also clarified that PERM is separate from the H-1B visa programme. It said the suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of visa holders and their dependents, although it could affect the green card process for eligible employees of the companies concerned.“We continue to follow developments around this issue,” the ministry added.The MEA’s response came a day after the Trump administration suspended eight companies, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe, from participating in the PERM programme.
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The US administration’s move is part of a broader crackdown on skilled-worker immigration. US officials have alleged that companies have used the system at the expense of American workers.The US Department of Labor said it would stop accepting and processing new and pending PERM applications involving the affected companies.PERM is an important step in the employment-based green card process. Employers generally need labour certification from the US Department of Labor before sponsoring eligible foreign workers for permanent residence.The process requires employers to establish that there are not enough qualified, willing and available US workers for a position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect wages and working conditions.
