Debate over H-1B visas shines spotlight on US tech worker shortages

A heated debate has recently erupted between two groups of supporters of President Donald Trump. The dispute concerns the H-1B visa system, the program that allows US employers to hire skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations – mostly in the tech industry.

On the one hand, there are people like Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon, who has called the H-1B program a “total and complete scam.” On the other, there are tech tycoons like Elon Musk who think skilled foreign workers are crucial to the US tech sector.