US, visa renewals, H1-B visa, Indians in the US
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Trump’s statements come as a relief for several Indians who were fearing curbs on H-1B visa following his takeover. File Photo

Trump backs H-1B visa, says US needs ‘competent people’

Stating that even though he likes both sides of the argument, Trump says it is also a fact that the US needs really competent immigrants which only H-1B can facilitate


In remarks that indicate his backing for the H-1B visa, US President Donald Trump has said that he liked “both sides of the argument” but wanted “very competent people coming to our country”.

"I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do," he said.

Also read: H-1B visa programme revamped: 5 major changes you need to know

Trump, who took office on Monday (January 20), was addressing a press conference at the White House on Tuesday (January 21) with Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.

Trump backs competency

The H-1B visa programme, which allows qualified tech professionals to come to the US, has divided Trump supporters.

While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has supported it, others say Americans are losing jobs because of it.

On Tuesday, Trump said: “We want competent people coming into our country. And H-1B, I know the programme very well. I use the programme.

H-1B and Indians

“Wine experts, even waiters, high-quality waiters – you've got to get the best people. We have to have quality people coming in. Now by doing that, we're expanding businesses and that takes care of everybody. So, I'm sort of on both sides of the argument, but what I really do feel is that we have to let really competent people, great people, come into our country. And we do that through the H-1B programme," he added.

Also read: Some relief for Indian IT firms, techies as Trump backs H-1B visa

The H-1B visas are temporary visas for highly skilled foreign nationals working in the US. Seventy-two per cent of those are held by Indian nationals.

The visa is granted for three years and can be extended by another three years.

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