This week, Elon Musk weighed in on the steep drop in H-1B visa approvals. This drop has disproportionately impacted highly skilled foreign labor from India. The H-1B visa program gives U.S. companies the flexibility to hire the most talented foreign employees. Many of these workers are Indian citizens, who have been leading in fields such as technology and medicine. Additionally, this year, the number of approved petitions overall for initial employment from those same seven Indian firms has decreased precipitously. This steep drop is causing alarm among the captains of industry and policymakers.
The H-1B visa program has had a huge drop-off in utilization. Last month, Trump continued this attack by raising the application fee for the H-1B visa program to $100,000. This new fee is a sign of deeper policy changes taking root. Consequently, the number of petitions approved has allegedly dropped. A new report by a liberal Washington, D.C., think tank has uncovered shocking new data. Approvals for first-time employment have fallen to their lowest in ten years, with only 4,573 petitions approved for the big seven Indian firms.
This is a terrible trend for several reasons, it’s also gotten dramatically worse over the years. From these firms, the total number of approved initial employment based petitions has decreased by 70% since 2015. Further, there has been a 37% cut relative to 2024. Currently, about 70 percent of all H-1B visas are awarded to Indian nationals. These transformative changes will deeply affect the Indian workforce.
His praise came in the wake of acknowledgement that Indian migrant workers have contributed immensely to technology and innovation in the US. He lavished praise on their hard work. He raised an alarm—similar to ours today—over the pernicious use of the H-1B visa as a weapon to undercut American labor. His comments reflect an increasing concern among employers about what recent policy changes mean for them.
“We need to stop the gaming of the system.” – Elon Musk
Musk stressed that under Trump’s policies denial rates will go up. This would lead to more confusion and complexity for employers who want to hire highly skilled foreign workers. This feeling is echoed in the report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). The report cautions that additional fees and red tape will only serve to make it harder for companies to recruit the talent they need.
The U.S. retaliated with hefty tariffs of its own on Indian products. This comprises a new 50% import duty on a range of imports and a 25% surcharge on imports of Russian oil. Other countries have managed to win trade deals from the U.S. At the same time, Indian exporters continue to face some of the highest tariffs in the world.
“The President has made it clear he loves tariffs.” – Elon Musk
As industries change and grow to accommodate new policies, the fate of the H-1B visa program continues to hang in the balance. With significant declines in approval rates, many are left questioning how these developments will impact America’s ability to attract and retain skilled foreign workers.