Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, have expressed their support for the Trump administration's decision to increase H-1B visa application fees.

Huang, who is an immigrant himself, said in an interview with CNBC on the 22nd (local time), "We want the best talent to come to the United States," adding, "I hope people remember that immigration is the foundation of the American Dream. We represent the American Dream." He continued, "I believe immigration is extremely important for the future of our company and our country. I am pleased to see President Donald Trump taking this action."

Altman also shared a positive view of the Trump administration's visa policy in an interview with the same outlet. He stated, "We need to secure the best talent from across the country," and added, "I think simplifying the process and offering financial incentives is also a good approach."

The Trump administration plans to significantly raise the H-1B visa application fee-commonly known as the "specialty occupation visa"-to $100,000. This visa applies to specialized positions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and 85,000 visas are issued annually through a lottery system.

A member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona, on September 17, riding an ATV. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

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President Trump believes that companies use this visa to bring in foreign workers at a lower cost, which reduces job opportunities for Americans. He also pointed out that the lottery-based system has led to staffing agencies submitting large numbers of applications, causing unintended side effects. Therefore, he announced that the application fee would be raised dramatically from about $1,000 to $100,000. According to CNBC, last year, 71% of those who obtained this visa were Indian nationals, and 11.7% were Chinese nationals.

However, American companies such as startups have expressed concerns about this measure. Venture capitalist Alan Patricof said, "In the past 10 years, not a single company I have invested in could afford this amount."

Economists have also warned that this decision could negatively affect U.S. economic growth, according to the British daily The Guardian.

In this context, the comments from Huang and Altman are interpreted to mean that for well-funded big tech companies, paying $100,000 would allow them to "separate the wheat from the chaff," thus having a positive impact on recruitment. Currently, the annual quota of 85,000 visas is shared among startups, staffing agencies, and others, but by raising the fee substantially, the higher barrier would reduce competition and allow these companies to secure talent more reliably.

Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, also commented on the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), calling it "a great solution." He said, "This means the H-1B visa will be used only for very high-value jobs, eliminating the need for a lottery and providing more certainty for those positions."