Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate of Indian American descent, has voiced strong opposition to the H-1B visa program, characterizing it as a form of “indentured servitude.” He pledged to abolish the program if elected, as reported by Politico.
The H-1B visa program is a non-immigrant visa category widely favored by Indian professionals, enabling them to work in specialized fields in the United States that demand a high level of theoretical or technical expertise. Indian nationals receive the majority of these visas, making them the program’s largest group of beneficiaries.
During his tenure as CEO of the healthcare company Roivant until 2021, Ramaswamy utilized the H-1B visa program to hire employees. The company successfully secured visas for 29 H-1B workers between 2018 and 2023, according to the report.
Ramaswamy contends that the H-1B program is detrimental to all parties involved and advocates for replacing the lottery-based system with a merit-based admission process. He asserts that the current system resembles a form of indentured labor that primarily benefits the sponsoring companies, and he is determined to dismantle it.
A staunch proponent of “meritocracy,” Ramaswamy has previously expressed his intent to employ military measures to secure borders and deport US-born children of undocumented immigrants, aiming to eliminate chain-based migration practices.
