Nvidia and OpenAI Applaud Trump’s $100K Visa Fee to Attract Top Global Talent

Tech giants throw weight behind controversial immigration overhaul

Silicon Valley's elite are betting big on brainpower—and they're willing to pay premium prices for it. Nvidia and OpenAI just endorsed former President Trump's proposed $100,000 visa fee for high-skilled immigrants, signaling a radical shift in how tech companies scout global talent.

The Premium Brain Drain

Forget traditional recruitment—this move creates a fast-track lane for exceptional minds. The six-figure fee would effectively create a tiered immigration system where companies can bypass bureaucratic hurdles by putting serious money on the table.

Wall Street's predictable reaction? Concerns about 'talent inflation'—because nothing says innovation like pricing out smaller competitors from the global talent pool. The policy essentially turns immigration into another venture capital play—betting $100K that a single hire will generate exponential returns.

Active recruitment becomes aggressive acquisition. Companies aren't just hiring employees—they're purchasing intellectual property with legs. The calculus is simple: one breakthrough researcher could be worth billions in market capitalization.

Tech's new arms race has a clear entry fee—and it's not for the faint of wallet. Welcome to the era where human capital gets the private equity treatment.

Huang and Altman express their delight with President Trump’s new decision 

During an interview, Huang and Altman shared their views on Trump’s recent decision to raise the cost of hiring foreign workers on visas. While commenting on the topic of discussion, they mentioned that Nvidia intends to make a $100 billion investment in OpenAI as the AI lab aims to use Nvidia’s AI processors in constructing data centers worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Following these investment plans, Huang stated that they required all the brightest minds existing to come to the US, urging that immigration is a key aspect of the American Dream. “We embody the American Dream,” he added.

Like Nvidia’s CEO, Sam Altman was also pleased with President Trump’s new decision. To support this claim, the CEO shared an optimistic view about these changes, stating that they now need to attract the smartest individuals in the country and simplify this process while offering financial rewards.

When comparing the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee to the previous one, the previous one ranged between $2,000 and $5,000 for each application based on how huge a firm was, according to reports from the Immigration Law Group. 

India and China play a significant role in the US’s visa holders

Concerning these changes, analysts have projected that the new $100,000 fee will greatly affect the tech sector and finance industries located in the US. This is because they highly depend on the H-1B program for qualified personnel, especially those from India and China.

These two countries contributed 71% and 11.7% of visa holders in 2024, respectively.

In the meantime, reports from reliable sources have highlighted that individuals who already possess H-1B visas and are currently in foreign lands will not be required to pay this fee to return.

The sources also revealed that many firms prefer to hire H-1B workers to occupy important technical jobs that they feel are hard to locate among American employees.

Still, the UK is taking advantage of the situation and may stop charging visa fees for in-demand workers to attract overseas talent and boost its economy.

In-demand professionals often apply for the UK’s Global Talent visa, which costs £766 ($1,034) per applicant. Each partner or dependent child must also pay the same fee, meaning the total expense for a family can easily run into several thousand pounds. On top of that, every applicant is required to pay an annual health surcharge of £1,035 to access healthcare services.

Introduced in 2020, the Global Talent visa is designed to attract elite workers in fields such as digital technology, engineering, medicine, and science. By contrast, most other foreign employees apply for the Skilled Worker visa, which ranges in cost from £625 to £1,423, depending on the role and salary level.

The Prime Minister now believes the time may be right to waive all fees for Global Talent visas. The MOVE comes just days after US President Donald Trump imposed a hefty $100,000 fee for America’s H-1B visas, a change expected to deter elite recruits considering jobs at US tech companies.

“Trump’s decision had put wind in the sails of those wanting to reform Britain’s high-end visa system to boost growth ahead of the Nov 26 budget,” the source said.

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