Vance “Loves” His Indian In-Laws, Just Not The Way The Immigration System Works

India-West News Desk

ATHENS, GA – Vice President JD Vance praised his Indian American in-laws as “great contributors” to the United States while discussing immigration reform and alleged fraud in the H-1B visa system during an event at the Turning Point USA tour at the University of Georgia.

Responding to a question from an Indian American attendee about long waits for green cards for H-1B visa holders, Vance said the country could address misuse in the visa system while also recognizing the contributions of legal immigrants.

“I think there is a lot of fraud in the H-1B system,” Vance said. “And I think you can believe on one hand that there is a lot of fraud in the H-1B system while also believing that there are people who have come to the United States in the past who have enriched this country.”

Referring to his family, he added, “I am married to the daughter of immigrants from India and I love my in-laws and they’re great people and they’ve been great contributors to the United States of America.”

Vance is married to Usha Vance, who was born in San Diego to Indian-born Telugu-speaking academics. Her father, Krish Chilukuri, studied at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, while her mother, Lakshmi Chilukuri, is a marine biologist and college provost at University of California San Diego. The family moved to the United States in the 1980s.

Vance also said U.S. citizenship carries a responsibility to prioritize the country’s interests over any previous national or group identity.

“When you become an American citizen … you’ve got to think of yourself as an American,” he said.

He separately praised his father-in-law, saying, “My father-in-law who moved to the United States from India, who got an education and became an American citizen, never once … said you should do this because it’s in the best interest of the country that I came from.”

Indians are among the largest users of the H1B visa program and the Trump administration’s changes in it  have brought that to the forefront in media headlines.