Elon Musk rarely shares details about his immigration experience. However, he addressed aspects of his past over the weekend in a series of posts on X, the platform he owns. This came shortly after a Washington Post report revealed that Musk began his career in the U.S. while working illegally to establish a Silicon Valley startup in the 1990s.
The report referenced court records, company documents, and former associates, including a past CEO who indicated that investors were concerned Musk might face deportation.
Musk has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment regarding the report or his previous remarks describing his immigration status as a “gray area.” In a post on X, he denied working without authorization, claiming, “I was in fact allowed to work in the US,” and accused President Biden of lying.
The report and Biden’s comments were widely discussed, particularly by Musk’s critics, who pointed out a perceived double standard given Musk’s vocal criticism of illegal immigration leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Supporters, including Tesla fans, defended Musk and criticized Biden.
In response to a supportive post, Musk elaborated on his visa history, stating, “I was on a J-1 visa that transitioned to an H-1B.” He claimed that his records would confirm this, suggesting that political desperation motivated the criticism against him.
Experts raised additional questions regarding Musk’s visa details. The J-1 visa is for exchange visitors, often used by students for academic training or research and requires a sponsoring program like a university. The H-1B visa, on the other hand, is a temporary employment visa for specialty occupations.
The Significance of Musk’s Student Status
Musk did not specify which institution sponsored his J-1 visa or the years it was valid. He was born in South Africa, became a Canadian citizen through his mother, and moved to the U.S. to study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He became a U.S. citizen a decade later.
Musk has previously stated that after leaving Penn, he intended to pursue graduate studies at Stanford but dropped out to start his first company. This detail is critical because strict rules govern work eligibility for individuals on student visas. Generally, these visas require that individuals be actively studying or that their sponsoring institution allows them to engage in practical training post-graduation.
Immigration attorney Greg Siskind noted that while transitioning from a J-1 visa to an H-1B is possible, a J-1 visa would not authorize someone who has dropped out of a degree program to work. According to Siskind, Musk would have needed to maintain full-time student status to qualify for work authorization on a J-1 visa.
A spokeswoman for Stanford University told CNN that there are no records of Musk ever enrolling there, though he was accepted into the graduate program. When asked if Musk ever had a student visa tied to Stanford, she stated that further documentation was unavailable.
If Musk’s visa was obtained through the University of Pennsylvania, similar rules would apply. Siskind indicated that, given Musk’s background, it’s unlikely he qualified for exceptions that sometimes allow off-campus work due to economic hardship.
Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck emphasized that Musk’s admission of having a J-1 visa implies he worked illegally, given the restrictions on such visas. Kuck remarked, “The only question is what did he do to fix his status violation?” He clarified that working without authorization isn’t a crime, but rectifying the status requires specific actions.
Key questions remain regarding the steps Musk took to obtain his H-1B visa and when that transition occurred. Musk graduated from Penn in May 1997, though some biographies suggest he completed his studies in 1995.
The Washington Post report mentioned a 1996 agreement with venture capitalists who would fund Musk’s first company. This agreement stated that Musk and his associates had 45 days to secure legal work status, or the investment could be reclaimed. Six former associates stated Musk claimed to be in the U.S. on a student visa.
Kuck noted, “Student visas are complicated, and to dismiss it in a two-line tweet, yeah, trust me, there’s always a lot more to it than that.”
Musk’s Impact on Immigration Discourse
Elon Musk is becoming a significant voice in discussions about immigration, especially since his acquisition of Twitter, now X, in 2022. His over 200 million followers often see him sharing conspiracy theories about the Biden administration’s handling of undocumented immigrants. He also frequently refers to his immigrant background and advocates for increased legal immigration to the U.S.
In response to details shared by his mother, Maye Musk, about her immigration journey, Elon described the legal immigration process as “a laborious Kafkaesque nightmare” and noted that becoming a U.S. citizen “was extremely difficult and took over a decade.”
Despite his prominence, Musk has provided limited specifics about his immigration status during his early career when he and his brother founded their first company, Zip2. Kimbal Musk has claimed that early investors soon discovered they were “illegal immigrants,” though Elon disputed this characterization, calling it a “gray area” in a 2013 event.
In a 2020 podcast, Musk referred to having a “student work visa” at that time, a term not officially recognized. Experts maintain that understanding Musk’s immigration path is challenging without access to his government file.
Hunter Swanson, an associate director at the Center for International Education, pointed out that enforcement of student visa regulations tightened significantly after the 9/11 attacks. “It definitely wouldn’t be possible to do academic training now on a J-1 Visa if you dropped out in your first term,” Swanson stated.
The Importance of Examining Musk’s Immigration History
Siskind argues that examining Musk’s immigration history is crucial, emphasizing the hypocrisy in his recent focus on illegal immigration. “He should be empathetic to the people who are struggling with the immigration system,” Siskind concluded.
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