Firstpost LIVE: Trump Backs H-1B Visas Amid Racist Attacks On Indian-Americans

LIVE: Trump Backs H-1B Visas Amid Racist Attacks On Indian-Americans | Vantage with Palki Sharma

The H-1B visa debate has once again taken centre stage in the US. President-elect Donald Trump recently aligned with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the program, expressing strong support for the visa used by foreign tech workers. This stance has put Trump at odds with some of his own supporters. Trump's comments followed a series of social media posts by Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed on Friday to "go to war" to defend the program. Musk, who once held an H-1B visa himself, pointed out that his company Tesla secured 724 such visas this year alone. The H-1B visa is a temporary work visa, initially granted for three years, with the option to extend or transition to a green card for permanent residency. However, there is an annual cap. Only 85,000 H-1B visas are issued each year, most of them for computer-related jobs, a field dominated by Indians. During his first term, Trump sought to restrict the use of H-1B visas. However, he recently remarked, "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program." The altercation was set off earlier this week by far-right activists who criticised Trump's selection of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American venture capitalist, to be an adviser on artificial intelligence, saying he would have influence on the Trump administration's immigration policies. Why is the H-1B visa so controversial, and what role does India play in this ongoing debate? On Vantage tonight, Palki Sharma answers these pressing questions.