Tech Leaders React to Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee: Support, Concern, and Uncertainty

Summarizing how business leaders, including Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Reed Hastings, have reacted to President Trump’s newly announced H-1B visa fee, with a centrist lens on what this means going forward.

Tech Leaders React to Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee: Support, Concern, and Uncertainty

September 23, 2025 — The Trump administration sparked a flurry of reaction on Sunday after introducing an executive order that imposes a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. Among those speaking up: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. Their responses reflect both acceptance of new constraints and worries over how the change will affect innovation, fairness, and America’s ability to attract foreign talent.

What the Fee Covers & What It Doesn’t

• The $100,000 fee applies only to new H-1B visa petitions, not renewals or existing holders. The fee is one-time per petition, not yearly. Business Insider+3Reuters+3The Guardian+3

• The policy is intended to take effect in the March 2026 H-1B lottery cycle, giving companies and workers a few months to adjust. The Guardian+1

What Key Leaders Are Saying

Jensen Huang (Nvidia)
Huang expressed optimism about the new policy. He praised the idea of aligning financial incentives with immigration and said that attracting the best global talent remains critical. “Immigration is really important to our company and is really important to our nation's future,” he told CNBC in a joint appearance with Sam Altman. Business Insider

Sam Altman (OpenAI)
Altman echoed sentiments about focusing on top talent. He said streamlining immigration and using financial levers to attract skilled workers make sense. The fee, he argues, could help reduce uncertainty in who gets visas. Business Insider+1

Reed Hastings (Netflix)
Hastings, who has been engaged in H-1B politics for decades, called the fee a “great solution.” He argued that the policy would reduce or even eliminate the need for the lottery system under which many assignments are currently decided. Hastings sees more certainty for high-value jobs under this new regime. Business Insider+2Business Insider+2

What Voices of Concern Are Warning

While some leaders support the policy, many others in tech, education, and smaller businesses are sounding alarms:

• Startups & small companies often operate on thin margins. Critics warn that a $100,000 fee per new hire could be prohibitive, especially for those hiring foreign talent in early-stage roles or regions where wages are lower. Reuters

• Innovation and competitiveness: Some say the policy might deter foreign graduates or skilled workers from choosing the U.S., pushing them toward countries with lower barriers. This could mean a loss of talent in sectors where there already are shortages. Reuters+1

• Implementation confusion: Over the weekend, mixed messaging caused uncertainty, especially around whether existing visa holders abroad would be affected, how the fee is paid, and what counts as “new” under the law. Businesses and immigration attorneys flagged a need for clarity. Business Insider+1

Centrist Perspective: Balancing Goals & Trade-Offs

From a centrist viewpoint, this policy shift reflects real tensions in immigration policy, between wanting to protect U.S. workers, ensure fairness, and maintain global competitiveness.

Potential Upsides:

• Encourages that only high-value, high-skill roles get H-1Bs, which could reduce gaming of the system and give more predictability to visa applicants.

• Might push businesses to invest more in domestic talent pipeline (training, internships, STEM education) if hiring foreign talent becomes more costly.

Risks & Downsides:

• Could disproportionately harm startups, academic roles, and innovation in emerging sectors if they have fewer resources.

• Raises barrier for foreign students or graduates who might have chosen to stay in the U.S. but now face much higher costs.

• Might slow hiring in sectors already facing labor shortages.

What Needs Attention:

• Clear definitions: What constitutes “very high-value jobs”? How is the fee structure implemented—who pays it, how often, what if exemptions are needed?

• Transitional support: For businesses to adjust, for employees already in process, and for foreign nationals abroad looking to apply.

• Monitoring economic and workforce effects: Are companies postponing hiring, outsourcing, offshoring, or adjusting growth plans in response?

What to Watch Going Forward

• Court challenges or legal pushback, especially around fairness and due process.

• Policy adjustments: exemptions, scaled fees, or thresholds to help smaller companies or non-tech fields.

• International response: how countries whose citizens are heavily affected (e.g. India) react diplomatically and whether they see increased “brain drain” pressures.

• Impact on business investment decisions: will some startups or tech companies shift more R&D or operations outside the U.S. to avoid visa costs?

The order introducing a $100,000 H-1B visa fee is ambitious, and its effects may ripple far beyond immediate visa policy. Business leaders like Huang, Altman, and Hastings are signaling that they see potential benefits, especially in raising the bar of visa allocation, but many others are worried about unintended consequences. A centrist view would hold that the policy might have a place in reformed immigration, but only if implemented with nuance, transparency, and protections for those currently in the visa system or dependent on it.