Comments made by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, on a panel at the World Economic Forum this week, have ignited a new debate about H-1B visas in the United States. Though Amodei was not speaking about visa or tech talent, critics of the H-1B visa have seized on his comments as evidence that the number of H-1B visas in the US has to drop. 

“I have engineers within Anthropic who say, ‘I don’t write any code anymore. I just let the model write the code. I edit it. I do the things around it,” Amodei said in the clip that has since gone viral. 

“We might be 6 to 12 months away from when the model is doing most or all of what SWE do day-to-day.” 

In the post that ignited the debate on social media, a user asked, “Why do we still import H-1B visas?” 

The H‑1B is a non‑immigrant visa that enables American companies to bring in foreign talent for specialized occupations. For decades, it has been a gateway for many foreign talents, including Indian IT professionals, to work in the U.S. Many have worked for Silicon Valley-based companyWith the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, the H-1B visa has become a hot-button topic. Critics of the American immigration policy has accused the government of allowing tech companies to hire foreign worker for jobs that they say Americans can perform.  

However, many other supporters of the American president have also argued in favour of H-1B visas, saying that for America to compete globally, it needs to attract the very best talent, and the visa would be useful. 

Months into office, President Trump rolled out a new policy that completely destabilizes the system, making it much harder for companies to sponsor visas for talent. 

In September 2025, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation that restructures the H-1B visa program by requiring employers to pay a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions — a huge jump from the typical few thousand dollars previously charged. 

Since the policy took effect, approvals for H-1B visas have dropped significantly.  

New H-1B Visa Fee: How the $100K Policy Could Reshape Tech Immigration to the U.S.
Steeper costs put the U.S. dream further out of reach for tech workers who want to migrate to the U.S.
TechloyOgbonda Chivumnovu