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- President Donald Trump's second term raises uncertainty for the H-1B visa program.
- Rejection rates spiked during Trump's first term but fell under former President Joe Biden's administration.
- Elon Musk supports H-1B visas, advocating for retaining educated foreign graduates in the U.S.
SALT LAKE CITY — As President Donald Trump's term moves forward, his administration has another pool of would-be immigrants to think about — educated professionals seeking permission to work in the United States under the H-1B visa program.
In Trump's first term as president, rejection rates for H-1B applications "spiked," according to the Pew Research Center, then fell during President Joe Biden's term in office. What will happen in Trump's second term remains the focus of debate and speculation with the registration period for an H-1B visa — March 7-24 — in full swing.
West Valley City immigration attorney Ysabel Lonazco senses support in the program from Elon Musk, the businessman who has been advising the Trump administration on cutting government spending. Musk, who has tapped the H-1B program for workers, has argued in favor of policies that keep foreign graduates in the United States after they get their university degrees.
Musk "encourages H-1Bs because he uses them. He knows the benefits," she said. "What Elon Musk is saying is, we want to get these foreign workers that are highly educated and we want to keep that talent in the U.S."
Pew, while noting that Trump "imposed restrictions" on the program in his first term, said in a report last week on the program that its future "remains under discussion." Applicants for H-1B visas — highly educated professionals, as a rule — stand in contrast to many of the immigrants here illegally who are the focus of heightened detention and deportation efforts by the Trump administration.
Baker Donelson, a law firm in 11 states that helps with H-1B visa applications, expressed mixed sentiment. During Trump's first term in fiscal year 2018, denial rates for H-1B visa requests peaked at 15% as his administration implemented stricter rules, according to Pew. The denial rate during Biden's term fell to less than 3%.
"While business immigration policies have largely been spared in the first few weeks of the new administration, we continue to advise employers that this will likely change as the administration begins to form," the law firm said in an analysis. Trump, it said, has warned of "enhanced 'vetting' processes for foreign nationals obtaining visas abroad at the U.S. embassies and consulates. ... Overall, we anticipate the H-1B visa process will be met with increased scrutiny."
The United States grants up to 85,000 new visas per year under the H-1B program, not including applications coming from universities, schools and other nonprofit organizations, which Lonazco said don't face a cap. Those seeking a visa, typically through an employer, must have at least a bachelor's degree and Pew said as of 2021, 57% of H-1B workers had master's degrees. In 2023, 73% of H-1B workers were from India, followed by China at 12%.
Computer-related jobs account for the vast majority of posts filled under the H-1B program, 64.9% of them in 2023, according to Pew.
Architecture, engineering and surveying posts trailed next, accounting for 9.4% of jobs filled, followed by education at 6.2%. Amazon got the most H-1B approvals in fiscal 2023 of any single business, 11,299 of them.
The program "was in danger ... in (Trump's) first term," Lonazco said. "Right now, it is very unclear what he's going to do with this program."
