Public favorability for India has dropped sharply over the last ten years, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
Just 45 percent of Americans have a “favorable” view of India, compared to 50 percent who have an “unfavorable” view, especially among younger, GOP-leaning Americans, says a new Pew survey.
The favorability rating is down from 64 percent in 2008, and 51 percent in 2023.
Pew added:
Partisanship. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to have a favorable view of India (50% vs. 42%).
Age. Half of adults ages 65 and older view India favorably, compared with 42% of those ages 18 to 29.
The survey comes amid growing public recognition of large-scale Indian immigration, and of India’s central role in the H-1B program, which has placed foreign contract workers into roughly 1 million white-collar jobs throughout the United States.
The negative view of India is increasingly wrapped up in the expanding criticism of the many visa worker programs that import contract workers for white-collar jobs via the H-1B, L-1, TN, and OPT programs. The programs keep at least 1.5 million foreign workers in jobs needed by U.S. graduates.
Roughly 70 percent of incoming H-1B workers are Indian, partly because prior H-1B workers have become executives and hiring managers in U.S. companies. Even Indians admit the inflow includes much corruption.
“See, what happens is with every government program, there’s also corruption,” said Vivek Wadhwa, who was born in Delhi, India, and is now a famous businessman in Silicon Valley. He continued:
First of all, you have people faking their resumes. So you have these body shops [white-collar staffing companies] who bring people in, and it’s cheap labor. So it’s a fact. It happens … Probably about 20-25 percent of the people who come in on H-1B visas fall in that category.
The programs are pumping many billions of dollars — via remittances and investment — out of the United States and over to India.
The underemployment rate for new U.S. college grads is roughly 40 percent, according to the August 6 report by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The combined unemployment and underemployment rate for computer science graduates is 26 percent, the report noted.
A 44 percent plurality of likely voters say that U.S. companies exploit the H-1B visa system, according to an October 2025 poll by Cygnal. Just 18 percent said that “definitely H-1B visas are essential for U.S. competitiveness,” according to the October 7-8 poll of 1,500 likely general-election voters.
The shifting public mood is also prompting GOP politicians — and government agencies — to step up their criticism of the H-1B program, despite President Donald Trump’s support for increased trade with India.
In April 2026, for example, Vice President JD Vance told an auditorium of college graduates:
Every single one of you should ask those Senate candidates: What do you think about the H-1B visa? Would you co-sponsor the Vice President’s —and former Senator’s — legislation to eliminate that program because it’s basically just something that big tech companies take advantage of? These are the things that you guys have to do, because I can’t keep these politicians honest by myself, I need your help. It’s a very big job.
The Indian government and Indians in the United States have begun an extensive PR campaign to rebuild support among U.S. citizens. The Times of India reported in March:
The Indian American Advocacy Council (IAAC) has released a report and guide titled “Stop Indian Hate: Hate Indian Hate: Hate Incident Tracker & Community Action Guide”, which records verified incidents of online abuse, public harassment and discrimination targeting the Indian American community from late 2025 through February 2026. The initiative also provides resources on how victims can report hate incidents and seek legal support.
But the official campaign is often undermined by Indian nationalists, such as BharatPatrio1 — “Bharat” is another name for India — who posted a response to the Pew survey:
Most of Americans are good people friendly and Kind American is facing a bit of Neo Nazis problem which will be fixed starting 2026 Nothing to worry USA India relationship will reach the Zenith Nazi White Nationalists on X can cry and if they push it they will be crushed.
