WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump defended the H-1B visa programme, saying the country needs foreign talent for certain industries.
In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Tuesday (local time), Trump was asked if his administration planned to deprioritise H-1B visas. He replied, "You do have to bring in talent."
When Ingraham countered, "We have plenty of talent, " Trump responded, "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, " he added.
Trump's statement comes even as he launched a crackdown on H-1B visas in September through a proclamation, imposing a hefty application fee of $100, 000.