U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Fraud Task Force press conference in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on October 08, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
India called comments by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance about immigrants from the country “deeply offensive” in an official government statement published on Friday.
Vance said on Thursday that the Trump administration wants foreign and local companies to “employ American workers,” and that they “cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.”
He was speaking as the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend Microsoft, Adobe and several major Indian information technology companies from its Permanent Labor Certification program, meaning they cannot apply for permanent residency for their employees on H-1 B visas.
Around 70% of H-1B beneficiaries in 2025 were born in India, per official data.
In a statement on Friday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs accused Vance of using “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,” the statement said.
Vance’s office did not immediately respond to a comment request from CNBC.
Vance was critical of Microsoft, accusing the company of replacing 6,000 laid-off workers with people on H-1B visas.
The Indian foreign ministry assured its citizens that measures announced by the U.S. will not affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of H-1B visa holders and their dependents.
“Talent mobility adds value to both economies,” the statement said, adding that the suspensions “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.”
More hiring in the U.S.
The Indian companies affected by the ban include Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL.
NASSCOM, the IT industry body, said in a statement that Indian technology companies have “significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas” over the last few years, and are expanding domestic hiring to their U.S. workforces.
The largest Indian IT company, Tata Consultancy Services, said its H-1B applications were in “single digits” in the last two years, and it intends to hire another 15,000 people in the U.S. over the next five years.
In June, a federal judge blocked the $100,000 H-1B visa fee U.S. President Donald Trump imposed last year.
