Immigration policy expert Rosemary Jenks said that it's ironic that Americans are made to feel sorry for Indian H-1B holders who are stranded at home due to a sudden delay in visa appointments, but no one in the US is feeling sorry for them. Companies are not waiting for them and are in fact going ahead to hire Americans, Jenks said, calling it a positive development for the US.
"Indians make up about 70% of H-1Bs, and many are now stranded in India while visas take longer. We’re supposed to feel sorry for them because it's taking longer for their visas to get approved," Jenks said, appearing on Steve Bannon's show. On the show, Bannon, a former aide of Donald Trump, called for a 10-year moratorium on all kinds of immigration.
Jenks said that the social media vetting of these temporary visas that the Trump administration started is taking more time to ensure that people who are coming to the US are not coming to kill Americans or otherwise mess with the system. "Perfectly reasonable and rational," Jenks said, disparaging the narrative that Indians are 'stranded' in their own country because of the sudden delay.
"Nobody is feeling sorry for them here because, first of all, some of their employers apparently are deciding that it's too much trouble to wait for them and keep the jobs open for them and are potentially hiring Americans to do those jobs, we would hope," Jenks said.
"This would be a perfect time to say 'okay we are done, no more," Jenks said, supporting Bannon's moratorium proposal.
The Indian government has raised the issue of visa delays with the US government but visa appointment dates are getting rescheduled to later part of 2026 and 2027 as the social media vetting has turned everything upside down.