New Delhi: India on Thursday, criticized Washington’s suspension of several major technology companies from a key employment-based green card process, saying the decision undermined the two countries’ shared ambitions. It also rejected remarks by the US vice-president, JD Vance, about foreign professionals, describing terminology associated with historical and colonial exploitation as “deeply offensive”.
In its official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs distinguished the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme from the H-1B temporary work visa system. Suspending PERM applications does not, by itself, invalidate existing H-1B visas or alter the immigration status of their holders and dependents, although it could impede eligible employees’ progress towards permanent residence.
The ministry defended Indian professionals as highly educated, skilled contributors to American economic growth and innovation, arguing that their mobility benefits both countries. It said American businesses gain expertise, stronger research capabilities, productivity and competitiveness, alongside employment creation and shareholder wealth.
India’s objection followed Vance’s characterization of workers recruited through employment-based immigration arrangements as “foreign indentured servants” during an announcement on Thursday. He alleged that companies used inadequate domestic recruitment exercises to justify employing foreign workers in place of Americans, with Microsoft receiving particular criticism.
As RNA Media reported on Thursday, the US action covers eight technology and outsourcing companies: Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. The US labour secretary, Keith Sonderling, said the department would neither accept new PERM applications involving the affected employers nor process those awaiting decisions.
Washington presented the suspensions as measures against alleged abuse of immigration programmes and displacement of American workers. Vance indicated that their duration would depend on the administration’s assessment, leaving employees and employers without a firm timetable for the resumption of processing.
Microsoft disputed the suggestion that its visa filings represented recruitment of thousands of new foreign employees, saying about 80 per cent of its H-1B applications in the previous fiscal year concerned extensions or changes of status for existing staff. It also said employees holding H-1B status received the same pay as others performing comparable work, according to Reuters.
PERM is a preliminary labour-market assessment required for many employer-sponsored green-card cases, rather than a grant of permanent residence itself. Under the US labour department’s requirements, employers must demonstrate that sufficient qualified and available American workers cannot fill the position and that hiring a foreign employee would not adversely affect comparable workers’ wages or conditions.
Employers must normally obtain a prevailing-wage determination and complete prescribed recruitment procedures before submitting an application. Certification then permits them to proceed to the immigrant-petition stage, meaning a freeze can block an essential step even when an employee remains legally employed under a separate visa arrangement.
For Indian professionals, the immediate concern is therefore delayed settlement rather than automatic loss of permission to work. Longer interruptions could nevertheless complicate some employees’ plans to remain beyond the usual six-year H-1B limit, because qualifying extensions can depend on the timing and progress of their employment-based immigration cases.
The consequences for individual workers may also differ substantially from the immediate commercial impact on their employers. TCS said it expected no effect on its workforce strategy or client engagements, citing single-digit PERM applications over the preceding two years, while Nasscom highlighted increased local hiring and reduced dependence on H-1B visas.
The suspension comes amid broader scrutiny of H-1B arrangements, although warnings of substantial changes do not constitute an announced closure of the programme. The labour department’s inspector general has documented field checks at business premises linked to approved petitions as part of a nationwide fraud investigation, with those observations providing grounds for scrutiny rather than proof against every employer concerned.
Separately, Washington has revived a proposal to remove work-permit eligibility for certain H-4 spouses. The official regulatory agenda lists it as a long-term action without a date for publishing a proposed rule, so the listing itself does not withdraw existing employment authorization.
India said it would continue monitoring developments, while urging recognition of the mutual benefits of skilled talent mobility. Its response places the dispute within the wider economic relationship, where immigration controls affect both Indian professionals’ prospects and American companies’ access to expertise.