Why Trump’s Inner Circle Is So Divided on H-1B Visas: QuickTake

US President Donald Trump’s plans to curb immigration by reducing the inflow of undocumented foreigners and deporting those already in the country have broad public support, particularly within his Republican Party. When it comes to restricting work visas for highly-skilled foreigners, a goal Trump pursued in his first presidency from 2017 to 2021, those in his inner circle are sharply divided. And Trump himself has indicated he’s changed his view on the H-1B visa program designed to allow US companies to hire highly educated foreign workers with knowledge in specialized fields.

What exactly is the H-1B visa program?

Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa program is one of a series of US immigration initiatives created during the 20th century to address specific labor shortages. Others facilitated the employment of temporary farm workers from Mexico during World War II, sheepherders mainly from Spain in the 1950s and nurses, many of whom came from the Philippines, in the 1990s. Today, employers can apply to bring in foreigners to fill temporary agricultural jobs under the H-2A program and workers for other kinds of temporary jobs, including seasonal work, under the H-2B program.

H-1B visas are used primarily by the tech industry, whose leaders say there is a dearth of professionals with science, math, and computer skills. “Computer-related” occupations accounted for about 65% of H-1B approvals in fiscal 2023. Applicants must have at least a bachelor’s degree. The visas are temporary, lasting as long as six years, but can be extended indefinitely if a company has sponsored a worker’s employment-based green card application for permanent residency in the US.

How does the H-1B program work?

Employers must petition the government for any workers they want to hire on an H-1B visa. New visas issued each year are capped at 65,000 — plus an additional 20,000 visas for those with a master’s degree or higher from the US. Demand from employers far exceeds that limit so employers must register prospective workers in an annual lottery, a process that moved online starting in 2020. Companies submitted more than 470,000 eligible entries for the fiscal 2025 visa lottery.

What are the arguments for and against the H-1B visa program?

Business groups support the program but say it needs to be expanded because the quotas on H-1B visas as well as on green cards limit their ability to fill critical labor shortages. Supporters of the program cite research showing that the professionals admitted under the program — mostly workers who moved to the US for college or graduate programs — deliver benefits to the country. They’ve been shown to make more patent applications than their peers and to increase a startup’s chances of obtaining funding and of winning patents. Their innovation and productivity has been shown to lead to lower costs for consumers.

The program’s critics, on both the right and left, have attacked it for undermining employment of skilled US workers.

In December, a row erupted on social media platform X between Trump’s new allies in the tech industry and more traditional Trump loyalists over the merits of H-1B visas. It came after Trump confidante and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer criticized Trump’s appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American venture capitalist, as his adviser on artificial intelligence.

Krishnan has argued for more foreign skilled workers in America’s tech industries and supports ending green card country quotas. The annual limit for employment-based green cards issued is 140,000, and only 7% of those can be awarded to individuals from a single country. This has created a significant backlog for countries with large populations, such as India, for example.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, jumped on X to aggressively defend legal immigration for filling a “dire shortage” of talent in the US, while insulting its critics at the same time. Trump, who attempted to limit the visa program during his first presidency, weighed in to say he had “always been in favor of the visas” and had used them many times.

What reforms has the government previously attempted?

The Biden administration in 2024 revamped the annual H-1B lottery to flatten the odds for individual workers and address suspected fraud by some employers. The Homeland Security Department said a rapid rise in registrations since 2020 could be attributed in part to companies colluding to artificially boost lottery odds with multiple entries on behalf of individual workers without a bona fide position. The lottery overhaul led to a steep drop in lottery entries, but the number of eligible registrations still far outstrips available visas under the cap.

New regulations also strengthened the oversight powers of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, including requirements for employers to comply with workplace visits. The new Trump administration is likely to pursue again some of the changes it sought to the H-1B program in its first term, including a rule raising the minimum wages allowed for workers hired on the visa. Businesses at the time argued that proposal would block recent college graduates from employment on H-1Bs.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrew Kreighbaum in Arlington at akreighbaum2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Lisa Beyer at lbeyer3@bloomberg.net