America Has the Talent. Trump Just Refuses to Invest in it.
The contradictory policy behind H-1B Visas and he U.S. innovation workforce
While technology executives swarm around Trump like bees to a hive, it’s unclear what they expect to gain. Yes, they see an opportunity to ingratiate themselves with donations and flattery — Trump is nothing if not transactional. But are they securing policy that will actually strengthen the U.S. tech sector?
Trump’s recent actions and remarks about tea hiring suggest the opposite: a contradictory and short-sighted approach that undermines America’s future workforce while claiming to save it.
Trump insists that America “doesn’t have enough skilled workers,” especially in AI - framing foreign tech talent as urgently needed to help the U.S. compete with China. He has even floated offering 600,000 visas to Chinese students or skilled tech workers, and suggested India would also see expanded access.1
But, the policy doesn’t match the rhetoric.
Trump wants more foreign expertise, but he has also made it drastically more expensive for companies to hire from abroad. And instead of investing in U.S. workers so they can fill these roles, the administration has kept domestic training small, expensive, and inaccessible to the very people who need it most, especially young adults with low-wage jobs and limited savings.
The contradiction reveals a deeper question: Who gets to build America’s future? Who is left out?
The “Skills Shortage” Claim
“We don’t have enough skilled U.S. tech workers, especially for AI.”
There’s some truth here. Advanced AI and engineering roles require training that many workers don’t yet have. Getting job-ready may take 6-24 months, and U.S. universities and apprenticeships haven’t kept pace with demand. 2
But, instead of addressing the shortage by investing in U.S. workers, the administration has embraced a different strategy: Don’t grow domestic talent. Import it!
And the current system already depends heavily on foreign talent:
• Indians: ~29% of foreign-born STEM workers in the U.S. 3
• Chinese: ~11%
• In Silicon Valley: Indians ~23%, Chinese ~18% among bachelor’s-level tech workers 4
In short: U.S. innovation depends on the very workers Trump is making harder to hire.
The Global Reality - India and China are Out-Training Us
India and China produce far more STEM graduates than the United States, year after year. 5Even if only a fraction become software engineers or AI specialists, the raw numbers dwarf American supply.
Those countries also structure their training systems so costs are lower and industry is directly involved in preparing workers for jobs that actually exist.
Their government and private sectors work together to ensure:
accessible technical training
alignment with actual industry jobs
rapid upskilling programs
Meanwhile, U.S. workers face the opposite:
high tuition
limited employer support
a training pipeline that depends heavily on personal debt 6
Americans aren’t lacking potential They are lacking access
Why companies Prefer H-1B Workers
Here’s the truth no one on Trump’s team will say:
Companies choose H-1B workers because it’s cheaper and faster than developing U.S. talent.
Hiring domestically requires:
time
tuition subsidies
paid training hours
competition for retention
Hiring through H-1B means:
minimal training cost
lower wages in many roles
reduced turnover because of visa dependency 7
Corporations are responding to economic incentives, not patriotic ones.
Training the Talent - and Who Pays for it?
American companies claim a talent shortage; yet, U.S. training pipelines remain small, underfunded, and hard to access - especially for young workers who cannot afford to sacrifice wages for education.
Meanwhile, India and China subsidize training at massive scale, creating the global workforce U.S. companies now depend on. Americans aren’t “too dumb” for tech. They’re too under-supported.
UNITED STATES
Only about 6,300 new tech apprenticeships in 2023 - tiny compared to need 8
Training programs often cost $10,000-$20,000+ out of pocket
Workers must give up income to retrain - impossible for many in low-wage jobs
INDIA
Public-private skilling programs reach hundreds of thousands to millions 9
Companies like Microsoft are investing billions directly into training 10
CHINA
National initative to upskill 30 million workers in high-tech roles by 2027 11
Training is heavily subsidized or free
U.S. companies benefit from training paid for by other nations, while America falls further behind.
The Hyundai Case and Visa Chaos
In September 2025, U.S. immigration agents raided the Georgia battery-plant site of Hyundai Motor Group and its partner LG Energy Solution, detaining approximately 475 workers, including 300+ South Korean nationals. 12
These workers were brought in on a confusing mix of B-1 business visas and visa-waiver entries - technically allowed for “business visits,” yet treated as violations when actual high-tech work was underway. 13
This case exposes the policy contradiction. We demand foreign-trained specialists to build advanced industries, then detain them for coming here to do the job.
The system makes the “right” visas inaccessible, then punishes workers when they proceed anyway.
Policy is undermining policy.
(When the situation at the Hyundai plant occurred, my first thoughts were that Trump was using muscle to force tariff negotiations, but who really knows.?)
Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Fee — A Self-Inflicted Handicap
Trump claims foreign tech workers are essential.
But in September 2025, he imposed a $100,000 fee on U.S. employers filing new H-1B petitions. 14 The fee is required to be paid by the employer, not the worker. 15
That is not how a nation solves a talent shortage. It is how a nation creates one.
We are told foreign workers are needed.
We are told foreign workers are a threat.
We are charged six figures to hire them either way.
The Bottom Line: This is a Choice
This is not a shortage of talent. This is a shortage of investment and vision.
It’s a policy choice.
U.S. youth unemployment remains high
Training remains unaffordable
Companies are rewarded for importing skills, not developing them
The administration fuels dependence, not capacity
If America relies on India and China to train our innovators, we are choosing dependency. If those nations shift priorities - keeping more talent home, raising the cost, or directing their expertise to outcompete us - our innovation pipeline collapses overnight.
Not because Americans can’t learn. But because our government chose not to let them.
A country that refuses to train its own workforce is choosing decline. And, decline is a choice we don’t have to make.
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