While being president of the US, Donal Trump had sought to limit the H-1B visa, while the social media company founded by him filed an application for the same visa for a worker it intended to hire.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, applied for an H-1B visa for a worker at a $65,000 salary, the lowest wage category allowed under the programme, despite Trump’s past criticism of the H-1B visa programme.
However, the company claimed they did not hire the worker.
“The company has never hired — and has no plans to hire — an H-1B visa programme worker,” Trump Media & Technology Group stated.
“When current management learnt of this application, which was made under prior management, it swiftly terminated the process in November 2022,” the company statement added.
Employers pay around $5,000 per person for an H-1B visa application. They can cancel these applications even after approval. The government doesn’t always keep track of visa cancellations. The Labour Department hasn’t found any records of Truth Social cancelling their applications.
The H-1B visa programme, often used by tech companies, has been a target of Trump’s policies. However, records show his companies had not applied for H-1B visas until the creation of Truth Social.
Despite Trump’s stance on immigration, his businesses have utilised the H-1B programme in the past. However, exceptions were made during his presidency to restrict legal immigration.
In a primary debate in 2016, Trump criticised the H-1B visa programme, calling it “very bad” and “unfair” for US workers. Yet, he acknowledged using it for his businesses, stating, “I shouldn’t be allowed to use it”.
“First of all, I think and I know the H-1B very well. And it’s something that I frankly use and I shouldn’t be allowed to use it. We shouldn’t have it. Second of all, I think it’s very important to say, well, I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do,” said Trump, reported by the news agency AP.
During his administration, Trump issued an executive order titled “Buy American and Hire American”, aiming to prioritise American workers in visa allocations. The order directed reforms to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.
A study by the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy found that during Trump’s time in office, the government started asking for more details from companies hiring foreign workers and rejecting more applications.
The ‘Project 2025’ handbook, compiled by supporters preparing for Trump’s fresh stint as president, says the H-1B programme should be transformed “into an elite mechanism exclusively to bring in the ‘best and brightest’ at the highest wages while simultaneously ensuring that the programme is not disadvantaging U.S. workers,” reported the news agency AP.
The H-1B visa programme has faced scrutiny for its impact on American workers and wage disparities. Companies are required to provide foreign workers with similar benefits and pay rates as US workers.
While Trump’s company applied for an H-1B visa at the lowest wage category, Kushner’s investment firm applied for a visa with a $200,000 salary, meeting the highest wage level criteria.
Despite the controversy, experts suggest the H-1B programme benefits small companies and supports skilled labour in various sectors.
“Winning the H-1B lottery actually helps them. It increases their chances of survival. In the next five years, they are more likely to stay active, particularly small companies that are very dependent on skilled labour,” stated economist Nicolas Morales.
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