Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has clarified that skilled immigrants will be viewed as “temporary teachers” under a new H-1B policy. This follows Donald Trump’s remarks about needing foreign “talent,” which Bessent says was misunderstood. The policy is not about “hiring,” but about “training.”
Bessent outlined a “knowledge transfer” program where skilled experts would come to the US, “train American workers,” and then “go home.” This is a fundamental shift in the purpose of the visa.
He suggested a timeframe of “three, five, seven years” for these “teachers.” Their goal is to make the US workforce self-sufficient. After that, “they can go home,” and “US workers will fully take over.”
This is necessary, Bessent argued, because of a skills deficit. “An American can’t have that job, not yet,” he said, particularly in industries like semiconductors and shipbuilding.
This “train and return” model, which Bessent called a “home run,” uses “overseas partners” as a catalyst for American industrial renewal. The focus is entirely on upskilling the domestic worker.