Trump’s Surprising Reversal on H-1B Visas: Says US ‘Needs Foreign Talent’

Washington — In a notable shift from his earlier hardline stance, US President Donald Trump has defended the H-1B visa programme, stating that the country needs foreign talent to fill critical roles across industries.

In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday (local time), Trump was asked whether his administration intended to deprioritise H-1B visas. He replied, “You do have to bring in talent.”

When Ingraham countered, “We have plenty of talent,” Trump disagreed, saying, “No, you don’t.” He elaborated, “You don’t have certain talents… And people have to learn, you can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, I’m going to put you into a factory. We’re going to make missiles.”

The remarks mark a major turnaround for Trump, who only weeks earlier had tightened H-1B visa regulations, imposing a $100,000 application fee through a September proclamation aimed at curbing foreign worker admissions.

Last week, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it had launched at least 175 investigations into potential abuses of the visa system under “Project Firewall”, an initiative introduced in September to target firms allegedly misusing H-1B visas. The programme allows US companies to hire foreign professionals in specialised fields such as IT, engineering, and healthcare.

“The Department of Labor is using every resource at our disposal to put a stop to H-1B abuse and protect American jobs,” said Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the DOL Secretary, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently directed the state’s Board of Governors to phase out H-1B visa hires in state universities, arguing that such positions should go to Florida residents. “Why are we bringing people in to assess our accreditation on an H-1B visa? We can’t do that with our own people?” DeSantis asked, calling the practice a form of “cheap labour.”

Despite these state-level measures, the White House reaffirmed that the administration’s goal remains to prioritise American workers, while also defending its reforms in court. The H-1B policy changes have sparked widespread backlash, including two major lawsuits, one filed by the US Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business group.

On October 31, five US lawmakers wrote to Trump urging him to reconsider his September 19 proclamation, warning that it could have negative consequences for the India-US relationship.

According to official data, India-born professionals accounted for over 70% of all approved H-1B visas in 2024, reflecting the high demand for skilled Indian talent and persistent backlogs in visa processing.

With inputs from IANS