Reed Hastings Voices Support for Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee
Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix and a notable Democratic donor, has expressed his backing for President Donald Trump’s executive order that establishes a $100,000 fee for H-1B Visa applicants, describing it as a “great solution.”
By implementing these visa fees, Hastings aims to eliminate the existing lottery system, which he believes will provide employers with more confidence in using visas for what he calls “very valuable jobs.” This support comes about a year after Hastings invested around $7 million in a political action committee, just as former Vice President Kamala Harris struggled in her 2024 presidential campaign.
Hastings stated, “I’ve been involved in H-1B politics for 30 years. Trump’s annual tax of $100,000 is a great solution. It ensures H-1B will be reserved for very high-value jobs,” as he shared on a recent post on X.
Alongside his wife, Hastings has contributed over $20 million to Democratic causes in recent years, reinforcing his status as a significant donor to the party. Netflix leaders have also emerged as influential donors to President Biden, having contributed $1.5 million during his 2020 campaign and an additional $100,000 for his 2024 reelection efforts.
Other prominent tech figures, such as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—who have both previously benefited from H-1B visas—have also advocated for the program as a means to address labor shortages in vital industries. Ramaswamy defended the visa program in December 2024, arguing that it does not yield the best engineers, while Musk remarked that Silicon Valley faces a “permanent lack of talent for good engineering” at that same time.
Yet, not all voices in the conservative sphere agree with the visa policy. Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of Trump, criticized what he termed “Big Tech Oligarchs” for their support of the H-1B program in an episode of his “War Room” podcast from December 2024.
The H-1B visa program allows foreign professionals in fields like technology and engineering to work in the U.S., with over 400,000 applicants each year for only about 85,000 available spots.
