Modi under ‘GyaneshGate’ siege, won’t hit back at US visa crackdown: Congress

• The US has suspended eight technology companies from the PERM programme, citing concerns about American jobs and ongoing investigations

• Congress says the action affects Indian IT professionals and questions the Modi government’s approach towards Washington

• US Vice President J D Vance has also announced an investigation into the J-1 exchange visitor programme used by nine universities

Congress on Friday criticised the Modi government over US restrictions affecting Indian IT professionals, arguing that New Delhi had legal options to respond but lacked the political will to use them.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Washington’s latest action demonstrated that conciliatory dealings with US President Donald Trump had failed to protect Indian interests.

“That appeasement of bullies never pays is once again proven by the US Govt’s actions yesterday targeted directly against Indian IT professionals,” Ramesh wrote on X.

He also claimed that the Modi government had sought to please Trump by imposing merchant discount rate charges on UPI transactions, which he said would directly benefit American companies.

Ramesh argued that legislation already passed by Parliament, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and its rules, offered India possible avenues for retaliation. He did not specify which measures the government should take.

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi “thoroughly compromised”, Ramesh claimed he would not act while facing opposition pressure over “GyaneshGate”. The reference concerns the opposition’s demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The criticism followed the US administration’s announcement on Thursday suspending eight companies from the Permanent Labour Certification programme, commonly known as PERM. Employers use the programme to obtain labour certification for certain employment-based green card applications.

The affected companies include Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe. US officials contended that employers’ use of the programme had disadvantaged American workers.

Vice-president J.D. Vance, labour secretary Keith Sonderling and attorney general Todd Blanche announced the measures as part of action by the US Anti-Fraud Task Force.

Sonderling said six major IT outsourcing companies were being suspended from PERM. Microsoft and Adobe were also being barred because they faced multiple active federal investigations, he said.

Vance singled out Microsoft, claiming that its hiring and immigration applications were inconsistent with its decision to cut American jobs. He said the company had laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 despite previously certifying that it could not find suitably qualified local employees.

According to Vance, Microsoft received approvals for more than 6,000 H-1B visas and submitted 3,682 PERM applications, with nearly 1,000 relating to positions matching those held by workers who had been laid off.

The restrictions concern employers’ participation in the labour certification process for permanent residency; they do not automatically cancel existing H-1B visas. Indian professionals account for more than 70 per cent of approved H-1B petitions annually, making changes to employment-based immigration particularly significant for them.

Vance also used sharply critical language to describe the system, referring to foreign H-1B workers as “foreign indentured servants” and companies using the programme as “visa mills”.

Separately, he announced an investigation into the J-1 visa programme used by nine major universities, including Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Caltech.

The J-1 programme permits foreign nationals to enter the United States as exchange visitors for research, teaching, study and specialised professional activities.

With PTI inputs