India has described remarks by US Vice President JD Vance about immigrant workers as “deeply offensive”. The Ministry of External Affairs issued its statement on Friday, 9 October 2026.
Quick Facts
| What Vance said | Companies “cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants” |
| US action | Suspension from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme |
| Companies named | Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, TCS, Wipro, HCL |
| H-1B holders born in India | About 70 percent in 2025 |
What the US Has Done
The US Department of Labor has suspended the named companies from its Permanent Labor Certification programme. That stops them from applying for permanent residency, the green card, for employees on H-1B visas.
Vance singled out Microsoft, accusing it of replacing 6,000 laid-off workers with H-1B holders.
India’s Response
The ministry said Vance had used “terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations”.
“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,” it said.
It added that the suspensions “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries”.
What It Means for Visa Holders
The ministry said the measures do not affect the validity of existing H-1B visas, or the status of visa holders and their dependants.
The Industry View
NASSCOM, the IT industry body, said Indian technology companies have “significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas” in recent years. The Hindu reported that the move has nonetheless raised concerns about retaining talent.
A Different Note
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India had never raised the H-1B green card issue with the US, and that fewer work visas would be “good” for India, the Hindustan Times reported.
Sources: CNBC, Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times (9–10 October 2026).
Featured image: US Vice President JD Vance in September 2025. Photo by the White House, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.