US H-1B visa debate intensifies ahead of Trump's inauguration

THREE WEEKS AHEAD of Trump's inauguration on January 20, the debate on foreign guest workers visas for highly skilled professionals, the H-1B, has intensified which has literally created divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.

- Lalit K Jha

Indians are the main beneficiaries of the H-1B visas, which bring in the best of the talent and brains from across the world. Highly skilled professionals from India walk away with the overwhelming number of H-1B visas - which is Congressional mandated 650,000 every year and another 20,000 for those who received higher edu-| cation from the US.

President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 47th President of the US at the US Capitol, has come out in support of the H-1B, so has two of his close confidants, Tesla owner Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom have been tasked to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favour of the visas. That's why we have them,"Trump told the New York Post over the weekend.

"I've always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country. We need them. We need smart people coming into US. We're going to have jobs like we've never had before,"Trump told reporters at a New Year's Eve party hosted by him at Mar-a-Lago. Both Musk and Ramaswamy have argued that H-1B visas are essential to attract the best of the talent, as the US falls short in many of the specialised fields.

They have been joined by Indian American Democratic lawmakers Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar who have come out in support of H-1B visas, after a sudden backlash against it as soon as Trump including Reappointed Sriram Krishnan as his Senior Policy Advisor for AI.