India is pushing back against the Trump administration’s latest immigration move.
In a statement Friday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs criticized the decision to suspend Microsoft and Adobe’s participation in PERM, which allows American employers to sponsor foreign workers, including H-1B visa holders, for green cards.
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The ministry said H-1B visas and PERM benefit both countries, arguing that Thursday’s decision does “not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.” It also took direct aim at Vance for describing Indian professionals working in the U.S. as “foreign indentured servants.”
Statement on announcement made by the US Department of Labour: 🔗https://t.co/k25WPiH6QZ https://t.co/LVb5AR6OTr
— India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) October 9, 2026
“We are aware of the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision concerning the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme for certain companies,” the statement read.
“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. 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.”
“We have also seen some comments in this context by the US Vice President,” the statement continued. “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. 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.”
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This comes after Thursday’s announcement sent social media into a frenzy, with calls to abolish the H-1B visa program altogether, while others argued that India’s economy is reliant on the H-1B visa program.
Commentators including Benny Johnson were also quick to spread the false claim that India’s stock market had crashed in response to the Trump administration’s announcement, a particularly impressive reaction given that the market wasn’t even open at the time.
When trading resumed, Indian stocks instead edged higher, led largely by the country’s tech sector. That points to a consequence missing from the online celebrations that making it harder for Indian professionals to work in the United States keeps more of their talent in India, benefiting its economy rather than ours.
Indian stock market added close to $200 billion dollars today after the H1B announcement. Most gains came from Indian IT firms. Here’s what MAGA doesn’t understand;
H1B = America wins. No H1B = India wins. The US economy is so massive that the 70,000 American citizens that graduate in IT each year are not enough to support the booming IT sector and the talent required to win the AI race against China. If American tech companies can’t hire talent in the US, they off shore it. Because there simply isn’t enough talent. Nothing to do with Americans being “dumb”. Americans are some of the smartest people in the world. It’s everything to do with how massive the economy is. What America loses with no H1B is an individual living in the US and paying taxes. Now employees hired in India will pay taxes in India.— JM US (@JMUSPatriot) October 9, 2026
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The Trump administration has argued that the H-1B visa program takes jobs from American workers and has vowed to crack down on it. Vice President JD Vance, the likely heir to the MAGA throne, has gone further, revealing last week that he supports abolishing the program entirely.
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