Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has taken a complex stance on President Donald Trump’s new proposal to hike the H-1B visa application fee from around $1,000 to a steep $100,000.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While the CEO calls the move a “great start” for preventing the misuse of the specialized skilled-worker visa, he warns that the massive cost threatens to put the “American dream further out of reach” for top global talent.
Speaking on The BG2 Podcast, Huang—himself a Taiwanese immigrant—expressed two main concerns about the new policy:
- The Bar is Too High: Huang noted that while the goal is positive, the $100,000 fee “probably sets the bar a little too high,” potentially discouraging bright international students and skilled professionals from coming to the U.S.
- Advantage for Big Tech: The fee creates an unlevel playing field that favors Big Tech firms (like Nvidia) that can easily absorb the cost, while smaller start-ups struggle to compete for top talent.
Huang ultimately sees the policy as a double-edged sword, stating, “At least it eliminates illegal immigration… but we have to be careful that it doesn’t make foreign students uncomfortable or push them away.”
He emphasized that the desire of “smart people… to come to America and smart students’ desire to stay” is a crucial indicator of the country’s future success. For Huang, a change that addresses attracting and keeping top talent is a step in the right direction, but the new fee should be seen as only “a good start—but it shouldn’t be the end.”
(Nvidia is one of the largest employers of H-1B visa holders in the U.S., with 1,519 filings in the last fiscal year.)
