Elon Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, a program that allows skilled foreign workers to temporarily live and work in the U.S.

As of 2023, the U.S. issues 85,000 H-1B visas annually, with approximately 70% of recipients working in tech-related fields, according to USCIS data.

At its peak, Musk's company Tesla employed 1,400 H-1B workers in a single year, highlighting the critical role of this visa program in filling talent gaps in the tech industry.

Nationwide, companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft file tens of thousands of applications yearly, contributing to a backlog of over 600,000 pending green card applications for H-1B holders and their families.