December 29, 2024
Elon Musk’s visa meltdown seems totally pointless
By Lena Renconvich
Sadly, the schism started by Musk and Ramaswamy over the H-1B visa program may be about nothing more than switching to another existing visa. While the H-1B does not specify excellence, the O-1A visa is already in place to facilitate temporary status (three years) for individuals with an extraordinary ability in science, education, business, or athletics.
Musk has stipulated in his arguments (which have driven an unwelcome rift into the MAGA base) that “I am referring to bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1% of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning.”
This “top 0.1%” sounds exactly like the parameters laid out in the O-1A visa. Perhaps he should be arguing that “science” may not currently include tech engineers, so the visa should be expanded to explicitly facilitate this modern branch of science.
Ramaswamy has previously stated that the “H-1B system is badly broken & should be replaced with one that focuses on selecting the very best of the best (not a lottery), pro-competitive (no indentured service to one company)...” So why would he not support abolishing the “broken system” and switch to a merit-based O-1A visa?
The vitriol reveals something else — a hidden anger and resentment toward what Ramaswamy calls “dumb and lazy” Americans. Elon is even more outraged at the pushback to his proposition, telling the unwashed public to “take a big step back and F--- YOURSELF in the face,” revealing a surprising side to the man, far more “vulgar” than any of president or candidate Trump’s comments. “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” Scary!
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/12/elon_musk_s_visa_meltdown_seems_totally_pointless.html