‘We don’t need low-wage servants…’: JD Vance sparks row amid H-1B visa debate, takes U-turn from Donald Trump’s stance

The H-1B visa has become one of the most heated debates in America today – for India(BHARAT), it is of even greater relevance. India(BHARAT)n professionals, including technology workers and physicians, are among the largest cohort of H-1B visa holders. Companies can apply for permanent residency for their H-1B employees, who can apply for US citizenship five years after receiving their Green Cards.

In September this year, President Doland Trump issued a Proclamation titled ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’ as an important initial step to reform the H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme.

Under the Proclamation, certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, must be accompanied by an additional USD 100,000 payment as a condition of eligibility. Meanwhile, an American lawmaker will be introducing a bill to “completely eliminate” the H-1B visa programme and take away the pathway to citizenship that it offers, “forcing” individuals to “return home” when their visa expires, as per news agency PTI report.

What did JD Vance say that ignited a fresh storm in the H-1B visa debate?

In the midst of the ongoing discussion surrounding the H-1B visa program in the United States, Vice President JD Vance has made a bold statement on the issue of foreign workers. Vance referred to foreign employees as “cheap workers” and stated that America does not need them.

Vance, in a conversation with Sean Hannity, said that the Democrat model is to “import more low-wage immigrants,” which he said is damaging to jobs and wages, and prosperity overall. Vance continued to say that when the next election comes, it is a choice between low-wage immigrants and America’s citizens empowered by technology.

Vance said US President Doland Trump is a different model that would open the door to more prosperity for the US. Vance’s comments are at odds with a recent statement by the US President, in which Trump stated that the United States doesn’t have workers with “certain talents.”

Later, Vance highlighted that the US ought to stop depending on low-wage workers and instead focus on leveraging technology to empower blue-collar workers; his remarks struck a noticeably different chord from the President’s stance.

Why is Vance’s view seen as a U-turn from Doland Trump’s stance?

Because the president remarked that America lacks certain types of talent, citing the case of the battery plant in Georgia that was raided. Earlier in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Trump cited an example of a battery plant in Georgia, where he had ordered a raid.

When Ingraham noted that “we have plenty of talent”, Trump said, “No, you don’t, no, you don’t. You don’t have certain talents. And people have to learn.” “You can’t take people off an unemployment line, and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory, we’re going to make missiles,” Trump added.

“They had, like 500-600 people, early stages to make batteries and to teach people how to do it. Well, they wanted them to get out of the country. You’re going to need that…I mean, I know you and I disagree on this. “You can’t just say a country is coming in, going to invest USD 10 billion to build a plant and going to take people off an unemployment line who haven’t worked in five years, and they’re going to start making missiles. It doesn’t work that way,” the president said.

Why is this debate significant for American workers and the tech industry?

Vance stated, “Their (the Democrats) idea was the way that we get more prosperity is that you import more and more low-wage servants and that actually I think reduced prosperity, because it meant that a lot of our blue-collar workers were struggling. But if you use technology and you empower the blue-collar workers rather than replace them with foreign labor, I think they are going to do way better, they are going to make higher wages and the whole country is going to be better off.” “In other words, do you depend on low-wage immigrants or do you depend on American citizens bolstered by technology and innovation? That’s the Trump model,” he added.