The recent H-1B visa fees hike announced by US President Donald Trump created an atmosphere of chaos. The massive hike in the H-1B visa fees rattled the tech industry. Many of the tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Amazon asked the professionals on H-1B visa to return to the US by September 21. As per the revised regulations the companies that are recruiting foreign professionals will now have to submit $1,00,000 payment for each H-1B application. Many on the popular beneficiaries of the visa system have not yet voiced their opinion on this new change. However, amidst this visa fee hike an old post of Tesla CEO Elon Musk has surfaced online. In the post being shared online Musk can be seen speaking in favour of the H-1B visa system.
Elon Musk’s past defense of H-1B visa
In a fiery exchange on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Musk has credited the visa program for allowing his journey and also for powering America’s tech dominance.
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,”
Musk wrote.Musk also went ahead and vowed to ‘go to war’ in order to defend the system against its critics. He argued that the skilled immigrants were important to US innovation and competitiveness.
Read Elon Musk’s complete post here
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.
Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,”
wrote Elon Musk.
Why it matters now
The resurfacing of this old post by Elon Musk comes at a crucial time for Indian professionals in the US, who make up nearly three-quarters of H-1B recipients. With the new $100,000 fee, the economics of hiring foreign talent have been upended, sparking fears of layoffs, relocations, and a potential reverse migration back to India.Musk’s past words — contrasting with his more recent criticisms of the program as “broken” — highlight the tensions between business needs, political rhetoric, and immigration realities.
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