H-1B Visa Fee: What did the industry leaders say about it?
- Ridhi Jain
- Oct 11
- 2 min read
The revised U.S. policy raising the fee for new petitions for the new H-1B visa to $100,000 has drawn widespread reactions from business leaders, tech behemoths, and professional organizations. Advocates argue it solidifies immigration based on merit; critics argue it will slow down innovation, burden startups, and disrupt transcontinental flows of talent.
Industry Major Responses on H-1B Visa
Reed Hastings (Chairman/Co-founder of Netflix) welcomed the hike in fees as a "great solution," stating it has the potential to direct the H-1B program more towards high-value occupations and diminish dependence upon its lottery-based allocations.
Nvidia Chief Exec Jensen Huang expressed support, writing that immigration is the heart of American innovation. He explained that connecting economic incentives and immigration policy does sound logical.
Sam Altman (head of OpenAI) also noted optimizing processes (raises fees, etc.) as a positive trend, but should it be done in conjunction with overall incentives?
Kevin O'Leary warned, however, that the high fee could harm innovation in the long term. He also cited smaller firms and start-ups as potential victims who could suffer in greater percentages.
Jamie Dimon (head of JPMorgan) protested the policy as a rule change that caught everybody by surprise. He does support immigration on merit grounds, but believes policies like these should do so with care.
Wide-Ranging Industrial & National Consequences
Nasscom (Indian IT sector association) warned that the $100,000 fee posed the potential to widely disrupt the Indian IT business. Additional unpredictability from surprise implementation was likely to spill over onto service exports and project timelines.
Accenture argued increased fees were "a non-issue" in its business, but statistics indicate businesses most dependent on foreign workers may still have bitter surprises coming their way
Tensions & Trade-offs
The sector response has a trade-off: the fee attempts to screen out higher-skilled or higher-paid applicants, something some administrators view positively to reduce exploitation or abuses of the system. But most warn that the size of the fee, and the manner in which the policy was rolled out, has the potential to choke off smaller employers, reduce global competitiveness, and inflict an uneven playing field.
American Immigration Council
Concerns also include unintentional effects: the best brains opting for alternative nations (e.g., Canada), or startup businesses slowing down or refraining from sponsoring visas, or existing projects with global workers causing unexpected costs or disruptions.
What It Means For Workers, Companies & Investors
It places pressure on company recruitment decisions: bearing the increase, passing on through increased fees, or holding back cross-border recruitment. For new businesses, the change is unfavorable, as large established players with greater scale gain from the increase. Well-qualified foreign labor has to pass through greater obstacles or confusion.
Generally, the $100,000 H-1B fee policy has been followed with endorsement and vehement criticism. What binds the responses is concerns over implementation, fairness, and long-term ramifications on innovation and foreign competitiveness. Businesses and workers will watch closely as the policy unfolds to assess how theoretical benefits are balanced with practical costs.
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