Trump says US doesn’t have talent to fill jobs, calls for more foreign workers

US President Donald Trump has defended H-1B visas, saying that foreign professionals are sometimes needed because American workers do not always have specific skills required for certain jobs.

In an interview, Trump was asked whether his administration would continue to support the expensive visa programme that allows skilled foreign workers to take temporary positions in the United States, to which he said the nation must “bring in talent” from abroad when necessary.

When Fox News host Laura Ingraham suggested that the US already has plenty of talented workers, Trump disagreed. "No, you don’t have certain talents," he added. He said that not all skills are available domestically and that some people need time and training to develop the expertise needed for specialized roles.

Trump highlighted examples of foreign investment in industries such as automotive manufacturing and artificial intelligence, noting that some American workers may not be ready for certain stages of production. He explained that it is unrealistic to expect someone who has been unemployed for years to immediately step into a complex technical job.

He added that when companies invest billions to build new plants in the US, they often require workers with highly developed skills that cannot easily be found among the unemployed.

Earlier in September, Trump signed a proclamation that dramatically increased the fee companies must pay to obtain H-1B visas, raising it to $100,000. The move was seen as a victory for immigration hard-liners but a setback for technology firms that depend on skilled foreign workers to fill critical roles.