NVIDIA Defies US Visa Slowdown, Offers Crores to Global Talent

Amid the tough US immigration environment, when most companies are downscaling their foreign recruitments, the leading American technology company, NVIDIA, is on a different path. The federal labour filings show the AI Chipmaker has increased its H-1B visa hiring during the first half of FY26.

The filings reveal the dimensions of compensation NVIDIA is offering to attract specialists across software engineering, chip designing, AI research and leadership roles, highlighting its determination to secure the best talent across the sector.

The AI chip designer is one of the most significant employers in the tech industry. NVIDIA Chief Executive Jensen Huang, who was born in Taiwan, has repeatedly emphasised the role global talent plays in the company’s growth and success.

“Immigrants crucial to the company’s mission”

During the first two quarters of fiscal 2026, NVIDIA secured certification for approximately 1,200 H-1B positions compared to the 1,000 certifications during the same period the previous year.

Its recruitment practices stand in contrast with those of other big employers from the tech industry. Google reported about 2,200 approved H-1B hires during the second quarter of FY26, against approximately 5,100 a year prior. Amazon's recruitment also declined, falling from roughly 6,100 to 4,300 during the same period.

While the data does not include the stock awards, bonuses and other incentives, they do revel the scale of compensation the AI giant is willing to provide.

AI researchers are among the highest-paid roles after managerial and lead positions, with salaries ranging from ₹99.37 lakh to ₹4.12 crore for a research scientist to a principal research scientist. While salaries for management and leadership roles range between ₹1.76 crore and ₹4.67 crore, for system software engineers and architecture directors.

NVIDIA heavily compensate its experts in designing next-generation computing systems and AI infrastructure, with salaries ranging from ₹1.26 crore to ₹4.07 crore.

Salaries for engineering position reveal the fierce battle for semiconductor talent with salaries ranging between ₹1.14 crore to ₹3.52 crore for various roles.

Software development roles and AI-focused engineering roles remain central to NVIDIA's recruitment strategy with software engineers earning as much as ₹3.75 crore in base payment.

The data highlight NVIDIA's aggressive hiring practicing across hardware, software, research and managerial functions despite a broader slowdown in foreign recruitment across the sector.

As companies across the world race to build and deploy AI system, the chip makers appears determined to strengthen its workforce with talents across borders and is willing to highly compensate them to secure its position as its believes that it will shape the next phase of the technology boom.