H-1B visa, which enables highly skilled tech workers from India and other countries to work in the United States (US), has sparked a controversy with Donald Trump set to assume the American presidency in January 2025. The US right wing is arguing that the H-1B visa reduces opportunities for native Americans.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has been the target of a furious backlash as he has been vocal in advocating for an expansion of the H-1B visa program. Top tech and venture capital executives in the US believe that increasing the number of skilled tech workers entering the country is essential to address local skill shortages and to maintain America's competitive edge in sectors like artificial intelligence and semiconductor engineering.
Taking to X, Musk mentioned that the reason he is in America, along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong, is because of H1B.
Musk, who is well known for his vocal opinions, wrote on X, “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” An H-1B visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa that enables U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for specialized roles.
What is the H1B Visa Debate About?
Interestingly, the debate started amongst the supporters of Donald Trump. This comes just a few days before he is supposed to take office on January 20, 2025. It centers around skilled immigrants. Should the new Trump administration allow skilled immigration?
Musk is of the view that the USA needs ‘smart people’ who will help build the ecosystem. He has added that it is the influx of skilled immigrants who will help build the tech ecosystem of the USA. Expressing his belief that America rose to greatness only because it was a meritocracy, Musk said that he will fight till his last drop of blood to ensure that it remains that land of freedom and opportunity.
Meanwhile, backing Trump’s view, another social media user, Kaizen D. Asiedu, wrote on X that 55 percent of billion-dollar tech companies, like Google, Intel, and Tesla, were started by immigrants and employ 400,000+ people. With a shortage of engineers, the U.S. needs both foreign talent and stronger local education to meet demand.
Now, the other side of the debate is that the H-1B visa is leading to an influx of immigrants when the focus should be on hiring Americans first. Trump’s hard stance on immigration is not unknown. After taking office, he also plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
Coming back to the H1B issue, one of the fiercest critics of the same has been far-right activist Laura Loomer, who mentioned on the social media platform X that it is alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump’s administration when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda. She further added that this will be in sharp contrast to the America First policy that the administration is focusing on.
Why Did it Start?
The entire debate escalated after Trump appointed Sriram Krishnan as the Senior Policy Advisor for AI at the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Indian-born venture capitalist Krishnan has always been a supporter of the H-1B visa program. Additionally, he has advocated for the removal of country cards for green cards. He wrote on X, “Anything to remove country caps for green cards/unlock skilled immigration would be huge.”
With regards to caps, currently, 65,000 work visas are given to foreign workers with a bachelor's degree in the USA each year. Further, 20,000 visas are given to those with a master's degree or higher from a university that is in the USA. Removal of the cap will allow more applicants to apply.
How Significant is it for India?
Notably, the fact that most of the H-1B visas are received by Indians makes the country the topic of discussion. Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suggests that Indians received the most number of H-1B visas (72.3% of all the H-1B visas in FY 2023).
Taking to X, a social media user wrote, “I’d love to see high-performing Indians stay in India and help their country thrive. No need to drain India’s brainpower and shift the social costs of immigration onto American taxpayers.”
Speaking about the same, HCL co-founder Ajay Chowdhury told Outlook Business in a podcast that Trump’s America will be stricter now in terms of immigration policy. “The world has suddenly recognized that Indians are smart. There is a lot of anti-India movement everywhere as they don’t want Indians to succeed. This is despite the fact that 40 percent of top companies in America are led by Indians,” added Chowdhury.
At a time when protectionism is becoming the go-to policy, it will be interesting to note how countries navigated in a globalised world.
