But there’s ample evidence the H-1B helps pretty much everyone else. Workers who enter the country on visas go on to start and run billion-dollar companies. Musk says he entered the country on a visa. He now runs Tesla, which employs more than 100,000 people .
A debate over the program for skilled foreign workers has pitted immigration hard-liners against some of President Trump’s most influential supporters in the tech industry.
Vivek Ramaswamy bowed out of DOGE hours after Trump's inauguration; as per a latest report, it was Elon Musk who wanted him 'out' due to 'differences'.
In his post, Ramaswamy argued that American companies prioritise foreign-born engineers over native Americans due to a cultural veneration of mediocrity over excellence.
A policy change would have implications beyond college campuses. Economics professor Bruce Sacerdote wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that amending the H-1B program would also negatively affect the economy in general.
Ramaswamy has not yet confirmed a specific date for his announcement regarding the Ohio Governor run, though reports suggest it may happen as early as next week. His campaign is expected to launch in 2026.
The Durham-Chapel Hill area is the 13th largest metro area for Immigrants with an H-1B visa from 2010-2016, and has only grown since then. The growth in the tech industries in places like Raleigh has occurred parallel to the rise in H-1B visa applications. But it’s not just the tech industry that draws H-1B visa applications.
Disney fired its American IT staff in Orlando, Fla., and replaced them with “high-skilled” foreign workers on H-1B visas.
Tech titans embraced Trump almost en masse, sometimes after high-profile past public opposition. Now some of their workers are cautiously expressing their dissent.
In the months following the 2024 presidential election, policies and proposals have coalesced from the Trump administration, including some that have caused alarm across American universities for one particular group: international students.
Along with the specter of travel bans, curtailed immigration was one of the key concerns raised by hotel company CEOs and other industry executives at this week's Americas Lodging and Investment Summit in Los Angeles.
The H-1B visa program has long been a lightning rod in debates about immigration and employment. Designed to bring the best and brightest talent from around the world to the United States, the program has been hailed as a driver of innovation;