Indian-born Republican taking on Jayapal backs Microsoft green card suspension, seeks separate quota for tech workers
Washington, Oct 27 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Nirav Sheth, the Ahmedabad-born Republican challenging Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in Washington’s 7th Congressional District, has backed the suspension of Microsoft’s green card sponsorship, even though thousands of the tech giant’s workers in his district are of Indian origin.
“Yes, I do support that. I do support President Trump’s and… Vice President Vance’s decision,” Sheth told IANS in an interview, eight days before the November 3 midterm elections.
He said third-party recruiting agencies were “abusing the immigration system”, leaving people with certifications who had waited “10 to 15 years” for a green card without benefit, while others used “loopholes” to get green cards “faster than the people who deserves it”.
“The immigration fraud is the major concern right now,” he said, calling the current policies “a tip of the iceberg”.
Asked whether firms such as Microsoft, Adobe or Infosys were engaged in fraud, he declined to comment. “It’s an ongoing investigation. I will not give a statement which gonna scrutinize either policy itself or the company,” he said.
At the same time, Sheth, who came to the US as a student in 2008, said the green card backlog facing Indian tech professionals needs “a complete overhaul”. Asked whether he would lift the per-country cap, he said, “It can be doable.”
“We must not punish the hardworking legal professionals who play by every rule,” he said, adding that per-country backlogs keep skilled workers and their families “in a legal limbo right here. It’s not fair.”
He proposed a separate green card quota for high-skilled professionals “directly employed by Microsoft and other big… Adobes, Facebook, you name it”, rather than those hired through third parties, especially those who have been in the US “five to 10 years, maybe more”. If elected, he said, he would push for direct dealings between the Department of Homeland Security and employers “rather than have relying on a third party”.
Sheth was blunt about his own chances. Asked about his realistic goal after winning 10.6 per cent in the August primary, he said: “Probably 20%. I know I’m not gonna win, I know that.”
“This is just trying to spread the message that I will not give up my fight. I will run again in two years,” he said, describing the contest as a David-versus-Goliath fight. “Oh, she’s Goliath. I mean, I’m the David.”
Jayapal, who was born in Chennai, won about 84 per cent of the primary vote. Sheth stopped short of echoing some Indian Americans who call her anti-India. “I will not say she’s anti-Indian… She’s anti-American, and I can confirm that,” he said.
He claimed community leaders could not point to anything she had done for Indian Americans. “When it comes to the Indian community, I haven’t seen anything or I haven’t heard anything from her,” he said, adding that the only thing he had heard was her post on X about the H-1B crackdown on Microsoft.
Sheth claimed Indian voters were shifting. “I’ve talked to so many Indian voters, especially in Kent,” he said, referring to Punjabi and Gujarati residents. “I think they’re gonna move with the… Republican voting.”
He accused Jayapal of focusing on Trump and national issues while ignoring homelessness, drug overdose deaths, crime and struggling small businesses in Seattle. He said he had shut down his own Italian restaurant last year “due to the… break-ins and other stuff”. He also attacked Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, which he said adds “a $1.27 extra tax the state charges on each gallon of gas”
Born and raised in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Sheth studied in Orlando and at the University of Massachusetts, before joining the US Marine Corps in 2011. “This is how I got my citizenship,” he said. He later served as a police officer in Washington state and resigned because of hearing loss in one ear. He now owns five businesses, including auto repair centres and a credit card processing firm.
On Trump’s first two years of his second term, Sheth said “the economy is thriving”, but said fuel prices and the war with Iran were concerns. On India, he said it would be “interesting to see” how ties develop.
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