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Pichai calls immigrant contributions ‘phenomenal’ amid H-1B debate
Pichai stresses immigrants’ role in major tech breakthroughs as the H-1B program faces new political pressure.
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Pranavi Sharma - Thu, 20, Nov 2025
- 00:09 EST
- 14
Sundar Pichai. / File photo/@MarketingMvrick
Sundar Pichai said immigrants have played a “phenomenal” role in US technology development, in a recent BBC interview on the AI boom to highlight how many major breakthroughs — including Google’s own recent Nobel Prize–linked work — have come from people who arrived through programs such as the H-1B visa.
Pichai, who first came to the United States as an international student before moving to an H-1B visa, said the government appears to understand the value of skilled immigrants. He said there is “a framework by which we all can still bring talented individuals,” adding that officials are making changes to address “shortcomings in the current program.”
He said many of the scientists behind Google’s recent Nobel-related achievements were immigrants. He also pointed to the long history of immigrant-led advances across the tech sector. Pichai said the contribution of immigrants has been “nothing but phenomenal” and expressed confidence that the United States will be able to keep investing in global talent.
The remarks arrive as influential figures in the Indian diaspora begin speaking more openly about the program. Pichai’s comments add a high-profile voice to the discussion as the program’s future faces competing political pressures and evolving policy signals.
In September, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned the silence of the Indian-American community on US policy moves that affect India, including the Trump administration’s 50 percent tariffs and the decision to raise H-1B visa application fees to 100,000 dollars.
Pichai has previously defended immigration. In June 2020, after the Trump administration suspended several work visa categories, he wrote on X that immigration had “contributed immensely to America’s economic success” and helped make Google “the company it is today.”
The H-1B debate intensified after President Donald Trump in September announced a 100,000-dollar fee for new applications. The White House later said the goal was to curb abuse within the program rather than end it.
At the same time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she plans to introduce legislation to eliminate the H-1B entirely and to block its pathway to permanent residency. Her proposal would force immigrants to leave once their visas expire, with one exception: up to 10,000 visas per year reserved for medical professionals such as doctors and nurses.
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