'We must bring talent from around the world to America', Trump softens his stance on H-1B visas

News Topical, Digital Desk : US President Donald Trump, who had previously tightened the H-1B visa, a popular option among Indian professionals, has now softened his stance on the program. Defending the program, he said that the US needs to attract talent from around the world because our country lacks certain talent.

Trump made this statement in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. When asked if the H-1B visa issue wouldn't be a major priority for his administration, he said, "If one wants to raise wages for American workers, one can't just let millions of foreign workers into the country." Trump replied, “I agree, but you also have to bring in talent.”

When Ingraham said, "We have a lot of talent," Trump said, "No, you don't. You don't have a special talent. People have to learn."

He said, "You can't pull people off the unemployment line and say, 'I'll put you in a factory, we'll make missiles.'" The US president said, "In Georgia, they raided illegal immigrants. There were people from South Korea who had made batteries all their lives. You know, making batteries is very complicated work. It's not easy. It's very dangerous. There are a lot of explosions and a lot of problems."

A fee of one lakh dollars has been charged

Last September, Trump signed an executive order tightening the H-1B visa program. Under this order, new applications for H-1B visas filed after September 21st must pay a $100,000 (approximately Rs 8.8 million) fee as a requirement for eligibility. Last week, the Trump administration launched 175 investigations into H-1B visa abuse.

71 percent of visas were granted to Indians.

According to USCIS, Indians have received more than 71 percent of H-1B visas issued in recent years. China is second with 12 percent of visas. Meanwhile, Indians will represent 27 percent of all foreign students studying in the United States in 2024.

85,000 visas are issued every year.

Each year, 85,000 H-1B visas are issued. An additional 20,000 visas are issued to foreign students pursuing higher education at American educational institutions. American tech companies use these visas to employ highly skilled foreign workers.

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