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In recent days, prominent allies of President-elect Donald Trump have publicly feuded over whether or not the incoming administration should do away with the H1-B visa program which supplies American companies with skilled foreign workers.
While Trump has consistently run on an isolationist, anti-immigrant platform, he has also recently aligned himself with major tech moguls — most notably Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — whose companies rely on H1-B visa recipients for expert labor. This has led Musk and Ramaswamy to clash heads with other Trump allies like Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon who say that the H1-B program should be done away with, claiming that the program keeps jobs away from American workers.
H-1B applicants must have at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in the occupation they wish to fill in order to receive a visa through the program. Once attained, an H1-B visa can last up to six years. Around 85,000 H1-B visas are issued each year, the majority going to first-time applicants while around 20,000 go to current visa holders who are graduating with a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. college or university.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump told The Post.
According to Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1,129 H1-B recipients currently work in Alabama at 273 different companies. The University of Alabama at Birmingham was far and away the largest employer of H-1B visa recipients in the state this year, with 181 approved workers as of September 2024.
Auburn University also employs H1-B visa holders, with 76 visa beneficiaries approved. Shipt, the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, the University of Alabama, and VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering all employ H1-B recipients, as well.
