US President Donald Trump seems to be taking a softer tone on the H-1B visa issue, just weeks after sparking outrage by announcing a massive $100,000 fee on visa applications. In a recent Fox News interview, Trump appeared to shift his stance, saying he supports bringing in “talented people” from abroad to take on specialised roles that require advanced skills.
The decision, which drew vast criticism from the Indian tech community, as over 70% of H-1B visa holders are from India, was seen as a major setback for skilled foreign workers hoping to build careers in the United States.
Trump shifts stance on H-1B visas
When asked during a media interaction if H-1B visas were still a priority for him, given his constant push to raise wages for Americans, Trump gave an unexpected answer. “H-1B visa thing won’t be a big priority for you? If you wanna raise wages for Americans, you can’t flood the country with thousands of foreign workers,” asked the Fox News reporter.
Trump responded by saying, “You don’t have certain talents. People have to learn. You can’t take people off the unemployment line and say go make missiles.” The interviewer, Laura Ingraham, questioned further, suggesting that America already has plenty of talent. But Trump immediately disagreed.
“Well, we have plenty of talented people in America,” Ingraham asked. “No, you don’t. No.” The interviewer asked again, “We don’t have talented people here?” The POTUS said, “You have to bring in talent.”
🚨I PRESSED President Trump on H-1B visas.🚨
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) November 12, 2025
“If you want to RAISE WAGES for Americans, you can’t flood the country with THOUSANDS of foreign workers.”@POTUS: “You have to bring in talent… You can’t take people off the unemployment line and say, ‘go make missiles.’”
The… pic.twitter.com/lB4wWuRKGK
‘You need them, ’ Trump defends skilled foreign workers
During the interview, Trump went on to give a specific example from Georgia, where officials had cracked down on Hyundai over employing foreign workers from South Korea. He called the jobs “very dangerous” and said those workers were essential for early-stage manufacturing processes.
“I’ll give you an example,” Trump said, adding, “In Georgia, we raided [Hyundai for] illegal immigrants. They had people from South Korea. Very dangerous job. They had 500-600 people. Early stages to make batteries, to teach people how to do it. Well, they wanted to kick them out of the country. You NEED them. You can’t bring in $10B for a plant, take people off the unemployment line, and start making missiles. It doesn’t work that way.”
While Trump’s administration has often focused on “America First” policies, this interview came as a shocker for many. Many saw it as an acknowledgement that the US economy still depends on skilled global workers.
“What he seems to be saying is that he wants Americans to have the jobs but we need foreigners to train them bc our talent isn’t up to speed. We have lost a lot of it over the decades,” a person commented on the video. “It’s in line with Trump’s vision to Make America Great Again. Merit based immigration has always existed and has been the backbone of America, and that supports it. His proposed use of H-1B was to fill a gap that needs to be filled,” another added defending Trump’s stance.
Over the past few days, the Department of Labor has launched over 175 investigations to probe H-1B employers accused of abusing the law. According to Fox News, these investigations aim to trace the misuse of the H-1B visa program. Together, they involve more than $15 million in wages that may have been underpaid or manipulated. So far, investigators say they’ve uncovered several troubling patterns.
