Nvidia CEO assures H-1B holders amid Trump’s $100k visa fee concerns: ‘Will continue to sponsor’
Chipmaker Nvidia will continue to sponsor H-1B visas and cover all associated costs for employees, despite US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order imposing a hefty $100,000 fee on each new application, Business Insider reported on Tuesday.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.(AFP)
In a message to staff, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sought to reassure employees amid growing anxiety within the tech sector, particularly among H-1B visa holders, many of whom are from India and China.
The reassurance comes after Trump’s September 19 proclamation, which significantly curtailed the visa programme that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
What Nvidia chief said on H-1B visa fees
“As one of many immigrants at Nvidia, I know that the opportunities we’ve found in America have profoundly shaped our lives,” Huang wrote, according to Business Insider.
“And the miracle of Nvidia — built by all of you, and by brilliant colleagues around the world — would not be possible without immigration.”
Huang added that “legal immigration remains essential to ensuring the US continues to lead in technology and ideas,” and said the Trump administration’s “recent changes reaffirm this.”
Trump’s new order on H-1B visa
The new order bars new H-1B recipients from entering the US unless their sponsoring employer pays an additional $100,000 per application. The administration has clarified that the order does not apply to existing visa holders or those who submitted applications before September 21.
Nvidia, headquartered in Santa Clara, California — the state that has consistently topped the list of H-1B applications since 2018, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — employs a significant number of foreign workers, in line with broader trends in the chip and technology industries. Huang has previously said that about half of the world’s AI researchers are Chinese.
“At Nvidia, we built our company with extraordinary people from around the world, and we will continue to sponsor H-1B applicants and cover all associated fees,” Huang told employees. “If you have any questions about H-1B visas, please reach out to Nvidia-Immigration.”
Trump admin doubles down
The Trump administration has defended the policy as a measure to prioritize American workers.
“So the whole idea is, no more will these big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000, then they have to pay the employee. So, it’s just not economic,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
H-1B visa fees widely criticised
The move has drawn sharp criticism from unions, education groups and religious bodies.
Earlier this month, a coalition sued the administration in the Northern District of California, calling the fee “unprecedented, unjustified and unlawful.”
The lawsuit argued that the President has “no authority to unilaterally alter the comprehensive statutory scheme created by Congress,” and warned that the policy’s exceptions could lead to “selective enforcement and corruption.”
