Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman shared their perspectives on the recent announcement by President Donald Trump to significantly increase the cost of hiring overseas workers on H-1B visas. The fee has been raised to $100,000, requiring companies to have documentation of this payment before filing an H-1B petition for a worker. Additionally, petitions will now be restricted for 12 months until the payment is confirmed, as stated by the White House.
In a discussion with CNBC’s Jon Fortt, Huang revealed that Nvidia plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI. This investment aims to support the construction of extensive data centers utilizing Nvidia’s AI processors. Huang emphasized the significance of immigration, stating, “We want all the brightest minds to come to the U.S. and remember immigration is the foundation of the American Dream. We represent the American Dream, and so I think immigration is really important to our company and is really important to our nation’s future.”
Similarly, Sam Altman from OpenAI viewed the changes positively, noting, “We need to get the smartest people in the country, and streamlining that process and also sort of outlining financial incentives seems good to me.” The new fee represents a considerable shift for the U.S. tech and finance sectors, which depend heavily on the H-1B program to acquire highly skilled immigrants, predominantly from India and China. These two countries alone accounted for a significant portion of visa holders last year.
It’s important to note that current H-1B visa holders located outside the U.S. will not be required to pay this new fee to re-enter. This development has raised concerns within industries that depend on these visas to fill roles requiring specialized expertise that is often unavailable domestically.
The adjustments represent a pivotal moment for companies reliant on international talent, reflecting the ongoing debate around immigration policies and their impact on the technology and finance industries in the United States.