Updated: December 28, 2024 15:43 IST 4 min read Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. (File Photo) Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla, X and SpaceX and a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, waded into the debate around hiring H-1B visa-holders on Saturday, saying he “will go to war” on the issue and asked right-wingers to “take a big step back”. The H-1B visa meant for skilled professionals is popular among immigrants, especially Indians. Musk’s remark is crucial since he has been an extremely close partner and confidant of Trump and is said to have an outsized influence on the Republican President-elect, who is set to assume office on January 20 in one of the biggest political comebacks in US history. “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and **** ******** in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” Musk said. Advertisement His sharp and assertive take comes days after a controversy broke out over the H-1B visa prompted by the appointment of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in the upcoming Trump administration. Krishnan had said in November, “Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.” Must Read | What happened to H-1B visas during Trump’s first term With Krishnan favouring the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the US under the H-1B programme, right winger Laura Loomer criticised the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. This has reopened the debate of immigration of skilled workers, with Musk, Krishnan and fellow tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — who was a presidential candidate in the primaries before dropping out and has now been tapped by Trump to cut the size of the US government by a third — supporting the H-1B visa programme even as right-wingers have criticised it. Immigration was an important political hot-button issue in the 2024 US presidential elections, where Trump had promised to shut down illegal immigration at the southern border and start a mass deportation effort. However, the current debate focuses on legal immigrants. Advertisement Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut US citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the programme to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post, adding, “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Also Read