E-Paper
Should US shut down H-1B programme? What Elon Musk said on Indians, immigration
H-1B visa: Elon Musk said, “I’m not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B Program… that would actually be very bad.”
Elon Musk weighed in on H-1B visas, high-skilled immigration and US border controls during a wide-ranging conversation on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast released Sunday. In conversation, Musk maintained that America has “long benefitted” from talented Indians.
Kamath opened the discussion by noting that the United States had for decades attracted “really smart people” from around the world. He then asked why the narrative around immigration had shifted in recent years, saying he felt the US had become “anti-immigration to a certain extent.”
Responding to the question, Musk agreed that Indian talent had played a major role in America’s growth. “Yes, I think America has benefitted immensely from talented Indians that have come to America,” he said.
The remarks came in the backdrop of the ongoing crackdown under US President Donald Trump on illegal migrants and recent changes to the H-1B visa policy.
Earlier in October, Trump signed a proclamation introducing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, a measure intended to push companies to prioritise hiring US citizens, but one that also drew sharp criticism from several sectors.
Musk says ‘shutting down’ the H-1B visa programme would be ‘very bad’
While Musk acknowledged concerns surrounding the H-1B programme, he said the focus should be on correcting its abuse rather than weakening it.
“There’s been some misuse of the H-1B Program… some outsourcing companies have kind of gamed the system,” he said, adding that the solution was to “stop the gaming of the system,” not scrap the visa entirely.
Elon Musk rejected demands from some conservative groups to end the scheme, saying, “I’m not in the school of thought that we should shut down the H-1B Program… that would actually be very bad.”
‘Left wants open borders’
Musk, who has had a fluctuating relationship with Donald Trump, took aim at the previous Joe Biden administration’s border policies, describing them as lacking control.
He said the approach had amounted to “a total free-for-all with no border controls,” adding that effective borders were essential because “unless you’ve got border controls, you’re not a country.”
The tech giant said US political divisions complicate immigration policy. “The left wants to basically have open borders… Then on the right, you’ve got at least a perception that somehow their jobs are being taken by talented people from other countries,” he said.
He argued that lax enforcement led to “massive amounts of illegal immigration” and created a “negative selection effect,” saying financial incentives for entering the US unlawfully encouraged more people to attempt crossing.
However, Musk added that in his experience, the scarcity of skilled workers was real. “We have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get these difficult tasks done. And so more talented people would be good.”
