A day after US President Donald Trump voiced support for the H-1B visa programme, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that the administration’s broader vision is to temporarily bring in skilled foreign workers to train Americans, before returning to their home countries.
“The President’s vision is to bring in overseas workers who have the skills that left with offshoring,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News. “Three, five, seven years, enough time to train US workers, then they can go home. The US workers fully take over.”
Bessent’s comments followed Trump’s remarks earlier this week defending the H-1B visa system, which allows US employers to hire highly skilled foreign professionals, particularly in technology and engineering.
Trump said that while America must develop its own workforce, it also needs to “bring in talent from around the world” to fill critical skill gaps.
For decades, Bessent said, the US has offshored advanced manufacturing and technical jobs, especially in sectors like shipbuilding and semiconductors.
“The President’s point is that we can’t just snap our fingers and expect Americans to learn how to build ships overnight,” he said. “We want to bring the semiconductor industry back to the US.”
Describing the administration’s approach as a “home run,” Bessent emphasised that foreign experts would play a transitional role. “This idea of overseas partners coming in, teaching American workers, and then returning home, that’s the goal,” he said.
Trump on Tuesday defended the H-1B visa programme, saying America has to bring in talent from around the world. "I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent," Trump had said in an interview to Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
(With inputs from PTI)