Nvidia has been expanding foreign talent recruitment after receiving about 1,200 H-1B job certifications in the United States in the first half of fiscal 2026. Pay levels for those roles are also drawing attention.

Business Insider reported on Sunday that foreign talent hiring is slowing across the U.S. tech industry. Some companies are cutting H-1B visa sponsorship because the Trump administration has tightened immigration rules.

Nvidia, however, is expanding hiring across hardware and software as well as customer-facing roles, moving against the industry trend. Analysts say it is aggressively securing staff needed to maintain its artificial intelligence competitiveness.

The trend at big tech companies is somewhat different. Google had about 2,200 H-1B approvals in the second quarter this year, down from 5,100 a year earlier. Amazon also fell to about 4,300 from 6,100 over the same period. That shows Nvidia moving in a different direction from the broader industry’s conservative hiring stance.

Most notable is Nvidia’s compensation structure. Based on base pay disclosed in federal filings, software engineers were tallied as receiving up to $391,000, while specialist research staff received up to $356,500. The figures reflect base pay only and do not include stock options and bonuses, which account for a large portion of actual compensation.

Nvidia is among companies where equity compensation has emerged as a key pillar of pay as its stock has surged. Total pay could be higher once non-salary compensation is added. The company does not disclose full salary data, but federal filings submitted for foreign hiring provide a partial look at pay levels for key roles.

By role, pay for advanced research and design staff was particularly high. Principal specialist research staff were shown as receiving up to $431,250, while senior architects received up to $425,500. Senior system software engineers were listed at up to $431,250.

Management and director-level pay was also high. Product managers were tallied at up to $379,500, while hardware engineering managers received up to $368,000. Architecture directors were listed at up to $488,750, the highest among major roles. Software engineering directors and developer relations directors were each listed at up to $471,500.

Nvidia is also increasing customer-facing staff to support adoption of its systems, not just technical development personnel. The fact that pay levels were also identified for product managers, program managers, solution architects and developer relations roles shows it is expanding hiring beyond AI chip sales to implementation and operational support.

The company’s view on securing talent is also clear. CEO Jensen Huang (젠슨 황) has stressed that securing global talent is very important to Nvidia’s mission. That is seen as a background to Nvidia continuing to hire foreign specialists.

The figures came as U.S. technology companies’ foreign hiring strategies diverge. Nvidia is continuing to draw in key AI personnel through expanded H-1B certifications and high base pay. The market views this as an all-around hiring stance spanning hardware, software and customer adoption support staff.