(MENAFN- Live Mint) Amid the public debate over the use of the H-1B visa , President-elect Donald trump on Saturday said, 'he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters'.
The comment comes billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk , in a series a X posts, vowed late Friday to go to "war" to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers.
Trump, who moved to limit the visas' use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program.
"I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program," he was quoted as saying. Here's is all you need to know about the H-1B Visa, why it is important and the controversy around it.
Also Read | Second H1B visa lottery uncertain but not impossible, expert claims What is H-1B Visa? Why it is important for Indians?
As per the American Immigration Council, the H-1B is a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa category that allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in“specialty occupations” that require at least a bachelor's degree or the equivalent Jobs in fields such as mathematics, engineering, technology, and medical sciences often qualify. Typically, the initial duration of an H-1B visa classification is three years, which may be extended for a maximum of six years.
However, before an employer files a petition with USCIS, he/she must take steps to ensure that hiring the foreign worker will not harm U.S. workers.
Every year, thousands of Indian techies move to the US with H1B visas.
For FY 2023, the Office of Homeland Security Statistics reports that 755,020 people were admitted to the United States in H-1B status. According to the data released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Indian nationals received the highest number of H-1B visas or 72.3% of all the H-1B visas issued by the U.S. for the fiscal year 2023.
All you need to know about H-1B Visa controversy:
The altercation was set off earlier this week by far-right activists who criticized Trump's selection of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American venture capitalist, to be an adviser on artificial intelligence, saying he would have influence on the Trump administration's immigration policies.
Reacting to it, tech entrepreneurs like Tesla's Musk -- as well as Vivek Ramaswamy, who is set to join Musk in co-chairing a government cost-cutting panel -- say the United States produces too few highly skilled graduates, and they fervently champion the H1-B program.
Musk, who migrated from South Africa on an H1-B, posted Thursday on his X platform that luring elite engineering talent from abroad was "essential for America to keep winning."
His tweet was directed at Trump's supporters and immigration hard-liners who have increasingly pushed for the H-1B visa program to be scrapped amid a heated debate over immigration and the place of skilled immigrants and foreign workers brought into the country on work visas.
Also Read | Musk vows to 'go to war' to defend H-1B visa programme; Trump sides with him
On Friday, Steve Bannon , a longtime Trump confidante, critiqued "big tech oligarchs" for supporting the H-1B program and cast immigration as a threat to Western civilization.
In response, Musk and many other tech billionaires drew a line between what they view as legal immigration and illegal immigration.
MENAFN29122024007365015876ID1109039354
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.