NEW DELHI:  During his election campaign US President Donald Trump emphasized the need to reform U.S. immigration policies, including the H-1B visa program, which allows highly skilled foreign workers to work in the United States temporarily.  Now with the ongoing debate on H-1B visas within his support base, he has said, " "We want to encourage talented, highly skilled people to pursue careers in the United States," Trump said, reiterating his focus on merit-based immigration. 

Talking to media after he took over the presidency Trump stated, "We want competent people coming into our country. And H-1B, I know the program very well. I use the program. Maître d's, wine experts, even waiters, high-quality waiters - you've got to get the best people". He highlighted that the H-1B visa serves not only the tech sector but also other fields, further stating, "We want competent people... NASA needs engineers like nobody's ever needed them."

Trump's remarks come amid ongoing debates about the H-1B visa program, with some arguing that it undermines job opportunities for Americans, while others, including prominent figures like Elon Musk, support the program for bringing in qualified tech professionals. Despite his support for H-1B visas, Trump's administration has historically imposed restrictions on the program to curb perceived misuse and protect American jobs. 

Incidentally, he made these remarks while talking to reporters at the White House during a joint news conference with Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.

The H-1B visa program has long been a cornerstone for industries like technology, healthcare, and education, allowing companies to fill skill gaps with foreign expertise. However, Trump and his administration argued that the program had been misused, particularly by companies hiring cheaper foreign labor at the expense of American workers. "We want to encourage talented, highly skilled people to pursue careers in the United States," Trump said, reiterating his focus on merit-based immigration. "We want the best and the brightest to come here."

In a related move, President Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, revoking birthright citizenship for children born to non-citizen parents in the US. Under the new policy, children born in the US will only receive citizenship if at least one parent is an American citizen or a green card holder.

Trump’s approach to the H-1B visa program is clearly focused to target curbing its misuse while prioritizing highly skilled talent and in this area his administration is likely to introduce several policy changes that will impose stricter requirements for H-1B visa applications, leading to higher rejection rates. 

Employers will be required to provide The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with more detailed documentation proving that foreign hires were essential for their business needs and met the qualifications for specialized roles.

The administration can also seek to increase the minimum wage for H-1B visa holders, arguing that this would prevent companies from hiring foreign workers as a cost-saving measure. The changes aimed to ensure that American workers would not be undercut by lower-paid foreign employees and to prioritize highly skilled, higher-paid professionals.

Trump’s reforms on the program have sparked significant debate across industries, with supporters praising the stricter regulations, arguing that they protected American jobs and ensured the H-1B program functioned as intended. However, critics - particularly from the tech sector have expressed concerns that these changes disrupted business operations and created uncertainty for companies heavily reliant on global talent.

Major corporations like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon raised alarms, warning that restricting access to skilled foreign workers could hinder innovation and economic growth. They argued that many of the positions filled by H-1B workers were highly specialized and difficult to source domestically. Some industry groups even filed lawsuits against the administration, challenging the legal procedures behind the reforms.