Calling the H-1B visa programme "indentured servitude", Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to "gut" the lottery-based system and replace it with meritocratic admission if he wins the race to the White House in 2024.
#VivekRamaswamy #H1BVisa #H1BWorkVisa #USPresidentialElection #IndianStudentsUS
#VivekRamaswamy #H1BVisa #H1BWorkVisa #USPresidentialElection #IndianStudentsUS
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00:00 Following the H-1B visa program indentured servitude, Indian-American Republican presidential
00:09 aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to gut the lottery-based system and replace it with
00:15 meritocratic admission if he wins the race to the White House in 2024.
00:20 Vivek Ramaswamy himself has used the visa program 29 times.
00:24 From 2018 through 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 29 applications
00:31 for its former company, Royal Wind Sciences, to hire employees under H-1B visa.
00:36 Yet the H-1B visa system is bad for everyone involved.
00:39 Mr. Ramaswamy was quoted as saying, "The lottery system needs to be replaced by actual
00:43 meritocratic admission.
00:44 It's a form of indentured servitude that only accrues to the benefit of the company
00:49 that sponsored an H-1B immigration.
00:51 I will gut it."
00:53 He said in a statement, adding that the U.S. needs to eliminate chain-based immigration.
00:58 The people who come as family members are not the meritocratic immigrants who make skill-based
01:02 contributions to this country.
01:04 He continued.
01:05 Mr. Ramaswamy stepped down as chief executive officer of Royal Wind in February 2021, but
01:11 remained the chair of the company's board of directors until February this year when
01:15 he announced his presidential campaign.
01:17 As of March 21, the company and its subsidiaries had 904 full-time employees, including 825
01:25 in the U.S., according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
01:29 When asked about the mismatch in the Republican presidential hopeful's policy stance and
01:34 his past business practices, Press Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the role of a policymaker
01:40 is to do what's right for a country overall.
01:43 The system is broken and needs to be fixed.
01:45 Vivek believes that regulations overseeing the U.S. energy sector are badly broken, but
01:50 he still uses water and electricity.
01:52 He said in a statement, "This is the same."
01:55 Mr. Ramaswamy, who is himself the child of immigrants, has captured headlines for his
01:59 restrictionist immigration policy agenda.
02:02 He also said he would use military force to secure the border, and that he would deport
02:06 U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.
02:09 Mr. Ramaswamy's stance on H-1B visas is reminiscent of the 2016 Trump campaign, when then-candidate
02:16 Donald Trump, who has also hired a number of foreign workers under H-1B visas for his
02:21 businesses, took a hardline stance on these foreign workers before later softening his
02:26 rhetoric.
02:27 As president, Trump temporarily suspended new work visas and blocked hundreds of thousands
02:32 of foreign workers from U.S. employment as part of a sweeping effort to limit the number
02:36 of immigrants coming into the U.S.
02:39 Every year, the U.S. gives 65,000 H-1B visas, which are open to all, and 20,000 to those
02:44 with advanced U.S. degrees.
02:46 In July, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamurthy introduced a bill proposing
02:50 to double the annual intake of highly skilled foreign workers on H-1B work visas coveted
02:55 by Indian professionals.
02:56 The H-1B visa, which is much sought after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant
03:01 visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that
03:06 require theoretical or technical expertise.
03:08 Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from
03:13 countries like India and China.
03:15 Every year, the U.S. gives 65,000 H-1B visas, which are open to all, and 20,000 to those
03:20 with advanced U.S. degrees.
03:23 Since many applicants come from India and China, currently there is a huge backlog.
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