The debate regarding H1-B visa has heated up again in America. A recent poll showed that most Americans believe the country already has a sufficient number of skilled workers for white-collar jobs, so they do not need additional foreign workers. The report, conducted in November, found a majority of Americans supported domestic solutions to the labor shortage.
Elon Musk, who had advocated for the expansion of the H-1B visa program to meet the labor shortage, has now taken a softer stance on the issue. He has said that the existing system for bringing skilled foreign workers to the US needs to be reformed. The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in occupations requiring specialized technical or theoretical expertise.
Musk argued that his companies, such as SpaceX and Tesla, need foreign workers. In recent times, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Musk and Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his Department of Government Efficiency. Trump had previously banned the H-1B visa program, but recently said he had always liked the visas.
The survey results show that 26 percent of Americans are in favor of hiring more foreign workers, while 60 percent believe that there is already no shortage of skilled individuals. It will be interesting to see how these survey results impact the ongoing debate on H-1B visas and whether Trump’s thinking may change again on this issue.
