Google CEO Sundar Pichai defends H1-B visa programme: ‘Contributions of immigrants has been phenomenal’

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has voiced his support for the H1-B visa programme while hailing the contribution of immigrants to the tech industry. Notably, Pichai, who is an alumnus of IIT-Madras, himself arrived in the United States on an H1-B visa but the recent orders by the Trump administration have made it more difficult for tech companies to hire skilled workers.

In an interaction with the BBC, Pichai was asked about the H1-B crackdown by the US government, to which he replied, “If you look at the history of technology development, the contribution of immigrants to the sector has been nothing but phenomenal.”

“I think the government understands it. I think there’s a framework by which we all can still bring our talented individuals, and I think they’re making changes to address some of the shortcomings in the current programme, and I think we’ll be able to continue investing,” Pichai added.

Notably, ever since the return of Donald Trump to power in the US, there has been a resurgence of “America First” immigration policies and growing fear that there could be drastic changes in the H1-B policy that could impact highly skilled professionals and students from countries like India, China and the Philippines.

Some US lawmakers have even proposed legislation to completely end the H1-B visa programme or drastically reduce the number of applicants accepted. Meanwhile, there has been stricter scrutiny of visas and a suspected higher denial rate. The US administration has also hiked the H1-B visa fee paid by employers to $100,000, up from the previous fee of around $2,000 to $5,000.

Notably, the H-1B is a temporary non-immigrant US visa which is often employed by US companies to get the best foreign talent to work for them. With the AI race heating up, the demand for highly skilled workers has been going through the roof, with companies like Meta poaching AI engineers and researchers for reportedly millions of dollars in packages.

What did Pichai say about Trump’s earlier order on H1-B visas?

Notably, Pichai’s recent comment is toned down as compared to his tweet in response to the temporary H1-B suspension in 2020.

“Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today. Disappointed by today’s proclamation – we’ll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all,” Pichai had posted in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter).