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'Come back, let's build India': Sridhar Vembu urges Indian techies to return after US Green Card freeze
In a post on X, Vembu highlighted the contribution Indians have made to the US economy and technology sector over the past decades.
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Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has urged Indians working in the US to return home and help build India after the US government suspended major Indian IT companies, including TCS and Wipro, from the Permanent Labour Certification programme, or PERM. The programme is a key step in the employer-sponsored Green Card process.
In a post on X, Vembu highlighted the contribution Indians have made to the US economy and technology sector over the past decades. “Indians have made a major contribution to America's technological prowess,” he wrote. However, he added, “Yet, a big part of America no longer wants us."
Also read | Indian IT firms among 8 hit by US green card curbs as America widens visa crackdown
Deep Dive
Vembu also expressed concern about the impact of the decision on Indians working in the US on visas. He said they faced the painful prospect of leaving behind the lives they had built through years of hard work.
“Indians who are on a visa in the US face the painful prospect of uprooting the life you have built with hard work,” the Zoho founder wrote.
Vembu suggested that this could be the right time for Indians working in the US to return home and contribute to India's growth. “Let this be the birth pains of a bold new future,” he said, adding, “Come back, let's build India.”
US green card curbs
The Trump administration froze on Thursday some Green Card filings by eight firms, including India’s Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, and opened probes into nine elite universities, widening a visa crackdown it says targets fraud and American job losses.
Also read | 'Opportunities for Indians but also helps US': India on Vance's remarks amid Green Card curbs
The twin actions mark the broadest strike yet against skilled-worker immigration programmes, potentially blocking a common path to permanent residency for thousands of foreign tech workers, including Indians, in the US while putting some of the country’s most prominent research universities on notice.
Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the suspension would cover Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Microsoft, Adobe and Capgemini.
The freeze does not appear to directly affect current holders of H-1B visas, which allow companies to employ foreign workers temporarily. But it could block a common route by which employers sponsor those workers for permanent residency.
