No immigration, no Nvidia: CEO Huang reaffirms H-1B sponsorship amid Trump’s $100,000 visa fee row
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who immigrated to the United States, assured foreign workers that the chipmaker will continue to sponsor H-1B visas for them despite the new $1,00,000 fee.
Making a bombshell announcement last month, US President Donald Trump said that all new H-1B applications to the country will now cost a fee of $ 1,00,000. Notably, these fees were paid by companies and were seen as a way to force American companies to hire local talent rather than scout abroad.
Huang’s message to employees was first reported by Business Insider on October 7. Reuters reported that a company representative declined to comment on the matter.
‘Nvidia wouldn’t be possible without you,’ Huang says
Like other tech giants, Nvidia has a significant number of employees from other countries living and working in the United States on high-skilled worker visas, also known as H-1B visas.
“As one of many immigrants at Nvidia, I know that the opportunities we find in America have profoundly shaped our lives,” Business Insider quoted Jensen Huang as saying in an internal memo to employees.
“And the Nvidia miracle that all of you and your brilliant colleagues around the world have created would not be possible without migration,” he added.
Huang added in his message that “legal immigration is vital to ensuring the United States remains a leader in technology and ideas” and that the Trump administration’s “recent changes confirm this.”
Donald Trump’s immigration policies: H-1B visa fees increased
Donald Trump signed an executive order in September banning new H-1B recipients from entering the United States unless the employer sponsoring the visa makes an additional payment of $100,000.
The administration said the order does not apply to people who already hold an H-1B visa or applied before Sept. 21.
According to USCIS data, California has consistently ranked at the top of the United States in the number of visa applications received annually since 2018, thanks to the presence of Silicon Valley tech giants, according to the report.
(With inputs from Reuters)
