"speaking about the importance of H-1B visas for specialized labor only a couple months after imposing steep hurdles meant to reduce the number of those visas doled out by U.S. companies. Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham in an interview released on Sunday that although he continues to believe the U.S. would not be able to increase wages for American employees if it brought in thousands of foreign workers, he also said the American workforce is lacking in key areas."
""You don't have certain talents, and people have to learn," he said. "You can't just say a country is coming in, going to invest $10 billion to build a plant and take people off an unemployment line who haven't worked in five years and they're going to start making their missiles. It doesn't work that way." In September, the White House imposed a $100,000 one-time fee on H1-B visas, meant for high-skilled workers, many of whom enter the tech sector."
President Donald Trump acknowledged the importance of H‑1B visas for specialized labor while expressing concern about their wage effects. He said the American workforce lacks certain talents and cautioned that importing workers cannot substitute for training long‑unemployed citizens. The White House imposed a $100,000 one‑time fee on H‑1B visas in September to reduce visa issuances. Critics warned that the fee would harm startups and smaller businesses, potentially kneecapping firms unable to absorb the cost. A 2020 NBER study linked higher H‑1B usage to greater startup success, funding, patents, and exits. Nearly 400,000 H‑1B visas were approved in fiscal 2024, double fiscal 2020 totals.
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