US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that his description of foreign professionals on H-1B visas as “indentured servants” was poorly worded, clarifying that he meant employers and the visa system, not the workers.
Speaking at a CBS News town hall on Saturday, Vance said the system could leave foreign employees vulnerable by making their ability to remain in the United States dependent on their jobs and sponsoring employers.
“To the extent that my rhetoric has been imperfect here, that’s on me,” Vance said in response to a question from an Indian immigrant who became a US citizen five years ago and voted for President Donald Trump.
Vance explained that H-1B visa holders can face significant uncertainty because losing their jobs may jeopardise their ability to stay in the country. He argued that this dependence gives employers considerable influence over foreign workers.
He stressed that he used the term “indentured servants” not to criticise H-1B professionals but to condemn a system that, in his view, lets companies exercise excessive control over employees.
The remarks follow strong objections from India, which described the terminology used to characterise foreign professionals as deeply offensive, citing its painful historical and colonial connotations.
Vance previously called foreign workers employed through the H-1B programme “foreign indentured servants” and criticised companies that rely heavily on the visa system, calling some “visa mills”.
During the town hall, the Vice President also referred to his family’s Indian connections, highlighting that his wife, Usha Vance, is the daughter of immigrants from South India.
Vance said his objective was not to dehumanise immigrants and acknowledged that his choice of words could have been better.
The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of US employment-based immigration programmes. Earlier this month, the US administration announced the suspension of several companies, including Indian IT firms, from a programme that allows foreign workers to pursue employment-based green cards, arguing that certain practices could disadvantage American workers.
Indian professionals account for more than 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions annually, making the programme particularly significant for India’s technology workforce.
The H-1B visa allows US employers to recruit foreign professionals for specialised occupations. Supporters view the programme as essential for filling skill shortages. At the same time, critics argue that parts of the system can disadvantage American workers and leave foreign employees overly dependent on their employers.
Vance’s latest comments seek to clarify that his criticism is aimed at the structure of the programme and the companies using it, rather than the foreign professionals who depend on it for employment opportunities in the United States.