Why MAGA Supporters Opposing H-1B Visa?

Amid Donald Trump taking over US Presidents office on January 20, 2025, his supporters are finding themselves divided over the H-1B Visa. The MAGA supporters finds it as a betrayal to Trump’s ‘America First’ policy. A debate has sparked between DOGE, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency and MAGA (Make America Great Again) - over the misuse of the H-1B visa programme by Indians. Trump is reportedly supporting DOGE, and apparently said that he "always liked" H-1B visas.

The controversy further intensified after the appointment of Sriram Krisnan, a Chennai-born venture capitalist, as the top Artificial Intelligence officer of Trump. A post on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Sriram has resurfaced and drew backlash from the MAGA supporters. The post on X was in favour of “unlocking skilled immigration,” and also favours relaxation in green card restrictions for skilled worker in the USA.

In between all the growing controversies of MAGA supported targeting OPT program and opposing H-1B Visa, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced new US visa rules 2025, which came into effect on January 17, 2025.

Why MAGA Supporters Opposing H-1B Visa?

As per the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the highest number of H-1B visas are issued to Indians in 2023, which accounts to 72.3% of total H-1B US visas issued to international applicants. This data clearly indicates that Indian nationals are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa.

MAGA supporters critisies the H-1B programmes and says that H-1B allows companies to hire cheap international labours, and eventually undermining highly qualified US labours.

Also read: MAGA Targets OPT Program: Major Changes Expected Amid H-1B Scrutiny

A Bloomberg report revealed that in the fiscal year 2023, the annual salary of among 70 per cent of the H-1B visa issued to Indian nationals were below or equal to USD 100,00. On the other hand, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics says, the median salary of qualified US professionals in the IT sector was USD 104,420, in May 2023.

Many reports in the past have also suggested the discrimination of H-1B employees and US employees. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has also received compiants accusing tech companies favouring H-1B workers over other US employees for job opportunities.

The data by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed that a total of 24,766 H-1B Visas are allotted to Indian origin companies between April and September 2024. Among them, the highest number of H-1B visas are issued Infosys, i.e. 8,140, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - 5,274, and HCL America - 2,953. A total of 130,000H-1B Visas are issued between April and September 2024.

The above data makes it clear that Indians are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa programmes, and this is the main reason why MAGA supporters are opposing H-1B visa.

What is H-1B Visa?

H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa to hire international skilled workers in speciality roles. Initially the H-1B visa is issued for three years, and later on it may be extended upto six years. The annual cap of H-1B visa is 65,000, with an exception of additional 20,000 visas of applicants holding masters degree or above from US universities.

The new H-1B visa rules are also came into effect on January 17, 2025. Several changes are introduced by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make H-1B visa applications more transparent and efficient. The key updates of H-1B visa rules include more clarity of ‘Speciality Occupations”, interview waiver for second time applicants, Strict measures to curb bulk applications, among others. The changes are introduced to curb fraudulent applications and make US visa application more smoother and flexible.