US newspaper The Washington Post said South African businessman and billionaire Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States for a short time in the 1990s.
Musk denied the news on Sunday and said he was allowed to work legally in the United States during this period.
“I was on a J-1 visa and upgraded to an H1-B,” he said on his X platform. The first visa, which stands for Student Exchange Visitor, allows foreigners to obtain training academic in the United States, while the second. allows temporary employment.
I had a J-1 visa that upgraded to an H1-B.
They know because they have all my files.
Losing the election makes them desperate.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2024
According to the Washington Post, Musk arrived in California in 1995 to study at Stanford University, but he never enrolled in the graduate program. Instead, he developed the software company (Zip2), which was sold in 1999 for around $300 million.
Two immigration law experts cited by the newspaper said Musk must enroll in a comprehensive study program in order to maintain a valid work permit as a student.
“I was there legally, but I was supposed to be doing study-related work,” Musk said in a 2020 podcast.
The Washington Post cited two former colleagues of Musk’s who recalled that Musk obtained a U.S. work permit in or around 1997.
Musk announced his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the presidential elections scheduled for November 5, in which he will face Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, as opinion polls show he is a very close race.
Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, has pledged to donate $1 million a day until the Nov. 5 election to anyone who signs his online petition in support of the United States Constitution.
For many years, Trump has portrayed immigrants as invaders and criminals, and during his presidency (2017-2021), he took aggressive steps to limit legal and illegal immigration, promising the greatest effort to expulsion of immigrants from American history if he is re-elected.