US to 'keep using' H-1B visas, says DHS, a day after Trump rejects talent shortage claims

A day after President Donald Trump publicly defended the need for skilled foreign workers, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the country will continue using its visa programmes, including the H-1B, while tightening vetting and enforcement.

“We're going to keep using our visa programmes. We're just going to make sure that they have integrity, that we're actually doing the vetting of the individuals who come into this country, that they want to be here for the right reasons, that they're not supporters of terrorists and organisations that hate America,” Noem said in an interview with Fox News.

Her comments came after Trump argued that the US must bring in specialised talent from abroad, saying the country does not possess “certain talents” domestically. Responding to host Laura Ingraham’s claim that America already has sufficient talent, Trump said, “No, you don’t, no you don’t. You don’t have certain talents. And people have to learn. You can't take people off an unemployment line, and say, ‘I'm going to put you into a factory, we're going to make missiles’.”

Noem said the Trump administration’s changes had “sped up our process and added integrity to the visa programmes, to Green Cards, to all of that,” adding that more foreign-born individuals are becoming naturalised under Trump. “More people are becoming citizens because we're not just streamlining… we're also making sure that these individuals… actually are here for the right reasons,” she said.

She sharply criticised the Biden administration, claiming it had let “thousands of terrorists” into the country by “opening the Southern border” and “abusing” asylum and visa programmes. “It's remarkable what President Trump has done, and it's because he's a great leader… this man is going to go down as a legend in history as our greatest president ever,” she said.

The Trump administration has been tightening rules around the H-1B system for months. In September, Trump issued a proclamation mandating an additional USD 100,000 fee for certain H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025. Last week, the administration launched 175 investigations into alleged H-1B violations, including low wages, fake worksites and “benching” employees.

“As part of our mission to protect American Jobs, we’ve launched 175 investigations into H-1B abuse,” the US Department of Labour said in a post on X. Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer added that the agency “is using every resource at our disposal to put a stop to H-1B abuse and protect American Jobs.”

Indian workers, particularly in the tech and healthcare sectors, remain among the largest beneficiaries of the programme.

(With inputs from PTI)