White House Defends Trump's "Nuanced" H-1B Visa Policy: Balancing Foreign Expertise with American Jobs

The White House has defended President Donald Trump's position on H-1B visas, describing it as a "nuanced and common-sense opinion" amid growing debate over the visa program.

During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that Trump supports allowing foreign workers initially for specialized roles but emphasizes eventual transition to American workers.

"He wants to see if foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in the United States of America, and they're bringing foreign workers with them to create very niche things like batteries. He wants to see that at the beginning, to get those manufacturing facilities and those factories up and running, but ultimately, the President always wants to see American workers in those jobs," Leavitt explained.

She acknowledged widespread "misunderstanding of the President's position" on this issue, emphasizing that Trump has clearly communicated to foreign investors that while initially welcoming specialized foreign talent, they must "better be hiring my people" in the long term.

This clarification follows Trump's recent remarks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, where he expressed support for legal immigration in technology sectors. "You can't come in, open up a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like it's being done in Arizona and think you're going to hire people often from unemployment line to run it. They're going to have to bring thousands of people with them. I am going to welcome those people," Trump stated during his speech.

The President further elaborated that these foreign workers would serve as trainers: "You are coming here, and you find that we don't have people that did that before. We are allowing you… if you have to bring people to get those plants open, we want you to do that. We want those people to teach our people – how to make computer chips and how to make other things."

Trump acknowledged potential criticism from his conservative supporters regarding his stance on foreign workers.

His comments have indeed ignited intense debate among Republican and conservative leaders, with some calling for the complete elimination of the H-1B visa program.

The White House previously addressed the visa policy, informing IANS that the $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications represents a "significant first step to stop abuses of the system."

White House Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told IANS: "The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H1-B visa applications is a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor."

The administration's H-1B policy has faced substantial opposition, including legal challenges. Two major lawsuits have been filed in courts, one by the US Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business organization.

According to recent data, India-born workers received over 70 percent of all approved H-1B visas in 2024, attributed to significant approval backlogs and the high number of skilled immigrants from India.