Jensen Huang said President Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee could put the American dream further out of reach for immigrants.
The Nvidia CEO said on an episode of the “BG2 Pod” published Friday that the Trump administration’s move to change America’s H-1B visa program is “a great start,” but added that the $100,000 fee “probably sets the bar a little too high.”
The policy “at least eliminates illegal immigration” and abuse of the visa system, but the steep cost might mean more investment outside the US, Huang said.
He agreed with tech investor and podcaster Brad Gerstner that the fee also tilts the playing field toward Big Tech firms that can more easily afford to sponsor visas, leaving startups at a disadvantage.
Huang said the US must remain mindful of how such policies affect global talent flows, saying they could make “foreign students uncomfortable.”
He pointed to Chinese researchers as one example, separating the ideas of the US competing with China as a country from American policies that affect Chinese people.
“We need to make sure that that slippery slope isn’t crossed,” he added.
Talent inflow is an early indicator of the country’s future success. “Smart people’s desire to come to America and smart students’ desire to stay, those are what I would call KPIs,” Huang said, referring to key performance indicators.
The Taiwan-born CEO has often described his own journey as a product of the American dream. America’s immigration system is in a “difficult situation,” and Trump has limited time to improve it, Huang said. Any move that addresses the country’s ability to attract and keep top talent is a step in the right direction, the CEO said.
The H-1B visa change is a good start — but it shouldn’t be the end, he added.
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Nvidia is one of the largest tech employers of H-1B visa holders in the United States. At the end of fiscal year 2025, the company had 1,519 H-1B filings and 36,000 employees worldwide, a Business Insider analysis found in March.
An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment.
Reactions to new H-1B $100K fee
Business leaders have been weighing in on President Donald Trump’s new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas. The White House told Business Insider earlier this month that the fee would only apply to new applicants, not those renewing their H-1B visas.
The US issues roughly 85,000 new H-1B visas via a lottery system every year. The H-1B program is highly popular among US companies looking to hire foreign workers for in-demand roles such as tech and engineering
Huang said in a joint interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week that he was “glad to see President Trump making the moves he’s making.”
“We want all the brightest minds to come to the US, and remember immigration is the foundation of the American dream. And we represent the American dream,” Huang said during an interview with CNBC. “Immigration is really important to our company and is really important to our nation’s future.”
Altman said the Trump administration’s introduction of the fee was the right move.
“We need to get the smartest people in the country, and streamlining that process and also sort of aligning financial incentives seems good to me,” Altman told CNBC during the joint interview.