India’s Foreign Ministry slammed Vice President JD Vance’s remarks, calling them unwarranted and offensive. The ministry said, "The description ignores the fact that Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem." It also noted that the PERM suspension does not affect existing H‑1B visas.
The U.S. had barred eight IT firms—Microsoft, Tata, Wipro, Infosys, Adobe, Cognizant, HCL, and Capgemini—from the PERM program, which issues green cards for employer‑sponsored workers. PERM is distinct from the H‑1B visa, which allows temporary work; the suspension could delay permanent residency for thousands of employees.
Vance argued that Microsoft had laid off 6,000 U.S. workers while receiving 6,300 H‑1B visas and nearly 3,000 green‑card applications, asserting that the company was replacing American workers with "foreign indentured servants." He claimed the firm needed to hire "great American workers" instead.
The ministry stressed that the history of the United States is built on immigrants and that terminology with colonial connotations is deeply offensive. With more than 5.2 million Indian‑origin people in the U.S., the ministry urges the U.S. to restore the PERM program and to recognize the mutual benefits of talent mobility. The ministry says it will push for a review of the U.S. decision at the next Indo‑U.S. trade forum.