New Delhi, Oct 9: India on Friday criticised the US decision to restrict a key green-card processing programme for major global and Indian IT firms, including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, saying the move fails to advance the shared ambitions of both nations, and dismissed US Vice President JD Vance’s characterisation of foreign professionals as ‘indentured servants’ as entirely “unwarranted and deeply offensive”.
As part of broader efforts to bring down the number of foreign workers in the US, the Trump administration suspended the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for eight IT majors and launched probes into several universities, a decision that comes amid continuing strain in India-US ties.
The companies facing the action are Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Microsoft, Adobe, Capgemini and Cognizant. The PERM is widely considered as a pathway for permanent residency and citizenship in the US.
The US decision to freeze the programme is expected to affect thousands of Indian technology professionals who rely on employer-sponsored green cards for permanent residency in the US after entering on H-1B visas.
In its reaction, Microsoft said 80 per cent of the 6000 H1-B visa applications it had submitted last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees and not to hire new people.
“We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the US are Americans. We look forward to providing the administration with additional information,” Microsoft said.
“For example, of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80 per cent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees. These were not to hire new people,” it said.
The remaining filings for new employees were for individuals already legally in the US who decided to come work for us, and they equal only one per cent of the US workforce.
“They are not new arrivals to our country,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category, the company said.
It said suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of H-1B visa holders and their dependents, though there could be some impact on the permanent-residency and Green card process of eligible employees of the affected 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 MEA 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 said.
New Delhi also took strong objection to Vance’s remarks on foreign professionals serving in the US.
“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 US are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem,” it said.
“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,” the MEA said in a statement.
“Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive,” it added.
The MEA said it will continue to follow developments around this issue.
US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, announcing the new measures, said on Thursday that “We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies.”
Vance slammed the IT firms recruiting foreign workers. “I am sure that everyone here understands the game that is being played.”
“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 undercutting the wages of American workers, replacing them with people who probably should not be in the United States of America to begin with,” he said.
The latest US move is likely to further strain the bilateral ties following a major downturn triggered by punitive tariffs imposed by Washington last year, as well as President Donald Trump’s assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the May 2025 India-Pakistan military clashes, which drew sharp reactions from Indian officials.
Washington’s decision to increase H1B visa fees additionally contributed to the slide in bilateral relations.
However, both sides have made deliberate efforts in recent months to repair the relationship and actively move forward toward finalising a trade deal but there was no success on the trade pact.
In another move, the US lawmakers passed a bill that provides for slapping punitive tariffs of up to 100 per cent on top Russian crude oil importing nations including India. Trump has already signed it.
