A racist social media post targeting Telugu-speaking Indians has sparked outrage online and reignited debate around H-1B visa holders in the United States. The controversy began after a screenshot from a Texas-based Facebook community was shared on X.
In the post, an Indian-origin resident asked for recommendations for luxury “new construction” homes in the upscale Frisco or Prosper neighbourhoods, mentioning a budget between $1 million and $2 million.
The screenshot was later reposted by an X user who goes by the name “The Repatriator”.
In the post, the user made a derogatory remark about the Telugu-speaking community. “Be a Telugu, live in a shack with 20 relatives in telugulands — win an H-1B lottery, come to America on fake docs and suddenly be able to afford a brand new 1–2 M dollar home. That makes sense,” the user wrote.
The post drew criticism from Indian-origin entrepreneur Nitish Kannan, CEO of Circle Plus Pay, a payment app. Kannan said there was nothing unusual about an Indian professional buying property in the US and rejected the claim that immigrants succeed through fraud.
“Because everybody on the H-1B visa makes six figures a year working in tech jobs by the way, nobody is stopping you from getting a job in technology or studying or working hard,” he wrote.
He also shared details about his own family’s journey in the US. “15 of my cousins came here on an H1B visa and they all make over six or seven figures and they all own homes and have become citizens. 100% of my family are multimillionaires and owned multiple homes and have paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes,” Kannan said.
Addressing the common accusation that immigrants take away jobs, he added that his relatives have contributed significantly to the American economy. “My other cousin co-founded a conference company, makes $15 million a year, pays millions in taxes, employs hundreds,” he wrote.
When another X user alleged that “most if not all of them probably paid for fake degrees from India and scammed their way here,” Kannan responded, “All of them went to college in America and got master’s and PhD degrees.”