South African-born billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States for a brief period in the 1990s when he founded a startup company, according to a Washington Post report.
Musk today denied the report, saying he was allowed to work legally in the US during that time. “I was on a J-1 visa that was converted to an H1-B,” he wrote in a post on social media platform X. The J-1 Exchange Visitor visa is for foreign students studying at US universities, while the H1-B visa is given to temporary employment.
According to the newspaper, Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California in 1995 to study at Stanford University, but never enrolled in the graduate program. Instead, he developed the software company Zip2, which he sold in 1999 for about $300 million.
Two immigration law experts cited by the Post said Musk would have to enroll in a full degree program in order to maintain a valid work permit as a student.
In a 2020 podcast cited by WP, Musk himself said: “I was there legitimately, but I was supposed to be doing student work. They allowed me to work to support myself somehow.”
Two of Musk’s former colleagues recall that the entrepreneur received his US work permit around 1997.
Musk is backing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election, which will pit the former president against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in a close battle, according to polls.
Trump has for years characterized immigrants as invaders and criminals, and during his 2017-2021 presidency took tough measures to curb legal and illegal immigration. He promises that if re-elected he will work to deport the largest number of immigrants in US history.
#Musk #Denies #Washington #Post #article #answers #accusations
