The Doge department is a nod to the shiba inu doge meme that's also linked to the dogecoin cryptocurrency, named by Elon Musk as his "favorite" cryptocurrency and accepted as payment by his Tesla car company—though Tesla continues to hold around 10,000 bitcoin worth around $1 billion on its balance sheet.

Earlier, Elon Musk said that he would "go to war" to defend the programme as it helps bring skilled foreign workers to the US. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.