India’s Ministry of External Affairs called U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s remarks about immigrants from India “deeply offensive” after the U.S. Department of Labor moved to suspend Microsoft, Adobe and several major Indian information technology companies from a federal labor-certification program. The suspension means those companies can’t apply for permanent residency for employees on H-1B visas. U.S. officials’ decision now determines which employers can use that route for workers.
The government sets the terms
Vance said Thursday that the Trump administration wanted foreign and domestic companies to “employ American workers.” He accused companies of laying off U.S. workers and replacing them with “foreign indentured servants.” The Labor Department announced the suspensions as he spoke, joining a political argument over who gets to work in the United States with an administrative restriction on named employers.
Official data showed that about 70% of H-1B beneficiaries in 2025 were born in India. That figure helps explain why Vance’s words and the federal action landed sharply in India, where professionals make up a large share of those beneficiaries. The suspension concerns companies’ access to the Permanent Labor Certification program; according to India’s foreign ministry, it doesn’t invalidate existing H-1B visas.
India’s ministry said Vance used “terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations.” It added: “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.” Vance’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry told Indian citizens that the U.S. measures wouldn’t affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of visa holders and their dependents. That assurance separates people who already hold visas from the suspended companies’ ability to seek permanent residency for H-1B employees. “Talent mobility adds value to both economies,” the ministry said, adding that the suspensions “do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.”
Companies and workers in the dispute
The affected Indian companies include Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL. Microsoft and Adobe are also suspended. The Labor Department’s move targets employers through the program; the account reports no community-led or worker-organized response to the suspensions.
Vance separately criticized Microsoft, accusing it of replacing 6,000 laid-off workers with people on H-1B visas. The account attributes that claim to Vance and provides no response from Microsoft. His office also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
NASSCOM, the IT industry body, said Indian technology companies had “significantly reduced their dependence on H-1B visas” in recent years and were expanding domestic hiring for their U.S. workforces. Tata Consultancy Services, described as India’s largest IT company, said its H-1B applications had been in “single digits” over the previous two years. The company plans to hire another 15,000 people in the U.S. over the next five years.
A fee blocked, suspensions remain
In June, a federal judge blocked the $100,000 H-1B visa fee U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the previous year. That court action concerned the fee, while the Labor Department’s separate suspensions affect companies’ access to the Permanent Labor Certification program. India’s ministry and NASSCOM have stated their positions. The federal restrictions remain the immediate measure described in the account.