The $100,000 visa fee isn't stopping OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia as they battle for AI talent

• Federal data shows that Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia are ramping up their use of foreign talent.
• All three companies filed more H-1B visa applications in Q2 2026 than they did a year earlier.
• The increase bucks a broader slowdown in H-1B visa filings across parts of the tech industry.

Companies may be less willing to sponsor a new graduate if they think the chances of securing a winning lottery ticket are slim.

Shivakumar, the recruiter, says he has also seen tech giants grow more comfortable setting up entire teams overseas, especially after the rise of remote work, and he says companies may want to avoid racking up H-1B application costs.

Anthropic, OpenAI, Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon did not respond to email requests for comment. Microsoft and Google declined to comment.