Three AI executives have voiced concerns about President Donald Trump’s proposed $100,000 H-1B visa application fee, warning it could stifle innovation and harm startups. The fee, introduced through an executive order, aims to limit foreign talent access to U.S. tech jobs but has sparked alarm across the industry. Arvind Jain, CEO and founder of Glean, a company building AI agents for enterprises that reached a $7.2 billion valuation, emphasized that the U.S. tech sector’s strength has long relied on global talent. Born in India and raised in the U.S., Jain said the policy undermines innovation by restricting access to diverse, high-skilled workers. “The strength of U.S. companies has always come from access to the best global talent — talent that brings diverse perspectives, which drive innovation,” he wrote. He added that while Glean hasn’t changed its hiring plans, the company remains vigilant about how such policies could affect its ability to attract top talent. May Habib, CEO and co-founder of Writer, an AI platform developing its own large language models, echoed these concerns. A native of Lebanon who moved to the U.S. as an adult, Habib highlighted that her company, which reached nearly a $2 billion valuation, was built on H-1B talent. “Adding this $100K fee means that 20-person startups aren't going to hire people who need H1Bs,” she said. She warned the policy would give an unfair advantage to Big Tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google—companies that can still afford the fee—while weakening the startup ecosystem that has historically fueled American innovation. Habib noted that Writer currently employs 10 people on H-1B visas and plans to continue hiring, but acknowledged the long-term risks. “We think building global, diverse teams is essential,” she said. Suzanne Rabicoff, founder of The Pie Grower, a think tank advising companies on AI-driven workforce strategies, offered a different perspective. While supporting immigration as foundational to U.S. success, she suggested the new policy could be an opportunity to invest in domestic talent. She pointed to a LinkedIn post by Phil Fersht of HFS Research urging companies to redirect funds from H-1B fees into onshore training programs for U.S. graduates. “Redirect a fraction of the $100K fees into onshore graduate academies. Pay them, train them on live customer backlogs, and move them to billable roles in under six months,” Fersht wrote. Rabicoff believes this shift could help develop a new generation of American tech workers in fields like data engineering, cybersecurity, and applied GenAI. “Can't we at least try to cook up something superior with the ingredients in our own fridge?” she asked. However, she cautioned that without such investment, the policy will primarily benefit FAANG companies, which can still afford to hire foreign talent, while leaving startups behind. “I can't help but wonder who really wins from this on the enterprise side in the short-term, which is what matters in the AI race,” she said.