Washigton DC: Following strong criticism from India over the language used to describe Indian professionals working in the United States, US Vice President JD Vance has acknowledged that his description of H-1B visa workers as “indentured servants” was poorly worded.
“To the extent my rhetoric has been imperfect, that’s on me. This is what happens often… when they come in with an H1B and the company is certifying that they are doing a job that they cannot find an alternative American labourer apt for it. He also accused companies of replacing American workers with foreign employees brought into the country through the visa programme. “We have also seen some comments in this context by the US vice president.
“If you are working as an H-1B visa in the United States of America, you are earning $20,000 less than an American citizen hired in the same position. If you were brought in by one of these foreign outsourcing firms, you are making $48,000 less than an American citizen in a similar position,” the vice president said.
Speaking at a CBS News town hall, he said his comments were aimed at companies and the visa system that can leave foreign employees dependent on their employers to stay in the country. He said that his choice of words had been imperfect and clarified that he was referring to certain H-1B holders and employment practices, rather than the entire category of visa workers. What I said about certain visa holders, certain H-1B (holders), is not (for) the entire category. Importantly, their visa is their only lifeline to the United States of America,” he said. Explaining his use of the phrase “indentured servants”, Vance said the term was meant to describe the power employers hold over foreign workers whose right to stay in the United States depends on their jobs. He accused foreign outsourcing companies of using H-1B workers to undercut the wages of American employees and said the practice allowed businesses to reduce labour costs. 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,” it said in a statement.
He had used the phrase earlier this month during a news conference on alleged visa fraud.
