The Indian-American Republican, Vivek Ramaswamy, has been viewed as one of the most prominent candidates for the upcoming US presidential elections. In one of his recent statements, he spoke against the current immigration policies concerning H-1B visas. Ramaswamy, being a child of immigrant parents, has gathered a lot of attention for his views on immigration.

In contrast to his disapproval of the visa program, he has used it as many as 29 times himself. Now, he describes it as indentured servitude, equating it with a lottery system, and advocates for a meritocratic admission. He has vowed to gut it if elected to the White House. Roivant Sciences, Ramaswamy’s former company, hired employees under the H-1B visas between 2018 to 2023, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US businesses to hire foreign employees in specialist areas that require theoretical or technical knowledge. It is the most common way for competent Indian IT workers to work and reside in the United States. Republicans have always had a stern stand on the issue of immigration. In 2015, when former President Donald Trump announced his bid for the post, one of the key issues addressed by him was illegal immigration, as it always has been the hotcake in American politics.

-Anushka Upadhyay