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Jensen Huang said President Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee could’ve prevented his own family from immigrating to the United States.
The Nvidia CEO, who has previously said the fee is probably too high, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday how it might’ve affected him personally had it been in place when he immigrated to the United States.
“I don’t think that my family would have been able to afford the $100,000, and so the opportunity for my family and for me to be here would not have been possible with this current policy,” Huang said.
Huang, who is 62, was born in Taiwan and spent time there and in Thailand before moving to the United States at age nine. Huang praised the idea of the “American dream” to CNBC and how it played a role in his life as an immigrant.
“Immigration is the foundation of the American dream. This ideal that anyone can come to America, and through hard work and some talent, be able to build a better future for yourself,” he said.
Huang said he believes Trump’s H-1B policy still enables American businesses to attract the world’s best talent, but that he hopes there will be “enhancements” to it, adding the president is “pragmatic.”
An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment when reached by Business Insider.
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On September 19, Trump signed an executive order adding the $100,000 fee. It set off panic in immigrant communities, including those in the tech industry.
Several tech companies urged their employees on H-1B visas not to travel or return to the US before the policy took effect. The Trump administration later clarified that the policy would only affect new visa applications, not existing visa holders.
Huang previously said Trump’s H-1B program was “a great start” but that the six-figure fee “probably sets the bar a little too high.”
Nvidia told staff in a memo that it will cover the fees for its employees on H-1B visas, Business Insider’s Geoff Weiss reported Monday. The company has over 1,400 H-1B-approved employees.
“As one of many immigrants at Nvidia, I know that the opportunities we’ve found in America have profoundly shaped our lives,” Huang wrote. “And the miracle of Nvidia — built by all of you, and by brilliant colleagues around the world — would not be possible without immigration.”
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