Former President Donald Trump has signaled a shift in his immigration stance, acknowledging the importance of H-1B visas for specialized labor just months after his administration imposed a $100,000 one-time fee per visa. In a Fox News interview, Trump said the U.S. workforce lacks certain technical skills, despite his earlier claims that foreign workers depress American wages. The fee, introduced in September, has drawn criticism from tech leaders like Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan, who warned it would harm startups. Nearly 400,000 H-1B visas were approved in fiscal 2024, double the number in 2020. Economists caution that Trump’s restrictive immigration policies could shrink the U.S. labor force by 15.7 million and reduce GDP growth by one-third over the next decade. Trump also referenced a recent ICE raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia, which detained hundreds of South Korean workers and delayed production, admitting that such actions might have unintended economic consequences for U.S. manufacturing and innovation.