Washington, 3 January (H.S.): With only three weeks until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the debate on foreign guest worker visas for highly skilled professionals, specifically the H-1B visa, has reached a boiling point and created divisions within both the Democratic and Republican parties. Indians are the primary recipients of these visas, which are limited to 65,000 per year and an additional 20,000 for those with higher education from the US. While some argue that these visas bring in the best talent and expertise from around the world, others have raised concerns about American jobs being taken away.
However, Trump himself has expressed support for the H-1B visa program, along with two of his close confidants, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They believe that these visas are necessary to fill the gap in specialized fields where the US is lacking. This sentiment is also echoed by Indian American Democratic lawmakers such as Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Shri Thanedar.
The recent backlash against H-1B visas was sparked by Trump’s appointment of Sriram Krishnan as his Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence, but supporters of the program argue that it is crucial for attracting top talent to the US.
Hindusthan Samachar
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