Top US Firms Hiring Indian Workers Face Backlash Amid Trump's Visa Clampdown: Report

Last Updated:January 14, 2026, 19:37 IST

The backlash has intensified following changes to the H-1B visa programme, which affects mostly Indian nationals.

Indian professionals have long filled critical roles in US tech, healthcare, logistics, and engineering. (Representative Image)

American companies are facing growing backlash for hiring Indian-origin workers, as anti-Indian sentiment in the United States grows amid President Donald Trump’s tightening of skilled-worker visas.

Major corporations across sectors such as logistics, retail and telecom, including FedEx, Walmart, and Verizon, have been targeted with coordinated online harassment, boycott calls, and racist posts, The Financial Times reported.

Critics accuse these companies of replacing “American workers" with Indian professionals. The backlash has intensified following changes to the H-1B visa programme, which affects mostly Indian nationals, who make up the bulk of skilled foreign workers in the US.

Social media platforms have seen posts accusing US firms of enabling an “Indian takeover," often accompanied by racist slurs and threats. A flashpoint came after a FedEx vehicle accident last year, when online commentators linked the incident to the Indian heritage of the company’s CEO, calling for boycotts.

Some posts falsely claimed that the company was laying off White American workers in favour of Indian staff. FedEx denied these claims, stressing its commitment to merit-based hiring and diversity.

Monitoring groups say such incidents are no longer isolated. The Centre for the Study of Organised Hate described them as “co-ordinated campaigns" against Indian-American executives and entrepreneurs.

Advocacy groups Stop AAPI Hate and Moonshot reported a 12% increase in threats of violence against South Asians and a 69% rise in online slurs last November. Experts link the rise in hostility to the Trump administration’s H-1B visa changes, which include a $100,000 application fee and wage-based prioritisation. From February, high-paid applicants will be prioritised, further restricting skilled visas for Indian nationals.

Indian professionals have long filled critical roles in US tech, healthcare, logistics, and engineering. Some high-profile Indian-origin executives, like Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, have benefitted from the H-1B programme. Yet the current climate of anti-Indian rhetoric has made companies cautious, with many hesitant to speak out or support cultural initiatives like Diwali.

Analysts say Indian workers, once considered a “model minority," are increasingly becoming a community under scrutiny amid growing anti-immigrant narratives in the US.

News world Top US Firms Hiring Indian Workers Face Backlash Amid Trump's Visa Clampdown: Report

Read More