A majority of Americans are opposed to increasing the number of H-1B visas granted per year. These visas allow immigrants to undercut American wages and are used extensively in the tech sector. According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, 60 percent of Americans feel the nation already possesses enough skilled workers for white-collar roles.
The poll’s findings cast doubt on proposals that Congress should increase the number of H-1B visas being issued. Notably, only 26 percent support increasing the present influx of foreign workers.
Rasmussen’s survey shows broad opposition to H-1B visas, with 72 percent of Republicans sure that the country has sufficient talent available at home, along with 63 percent of swing voters—and even 47 percent of Democrats.
The debate over the H-1B visa policy has intensified after President-elect Donald J. Trump appeared to back his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chiefs, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, in supporting H-1B visas to attract foreign “talent” to the U.S.
Trump had previously argued that H-1B visas are “unfair” to American workers, saying in 2016, “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.”
Musk, meanwhile, has become the leading advocate of H-1B visas. Reports show that his automotive company, Tesla, laid off thousands of American workers and replaced them with H-1B migrants. As many as 15,000 U.S. workers were laid off in April of 2024, with H-1B migrants used to fill many positions.
Under the outgoing Biden-Harris regime, the post-COVID job “recovery” was comprised almost entirely of migrant workers.
