Azoria CEO James Fishback weighs in on Walmart’s suspension of job postings for H-1B visa candidates, highlights the importance of hiring U.S. citizens and the upcoming September CPI report.
Following the Trump administration’s decision to add a $100,000 fee to H-1B visa applicants, a retail giant has reportedly halted job offers to applicants who need a work permit.
Walmart has stopped hiring those who need H-1B temporary work visas due to the Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 application fee, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The current guidelines mainly affect company employees, the outlet reported.
This is evident from government data the company is the largest user of H-1B visas among major retailers, employing approximately 2,390 visa holders.
“We have qualified Americans all over this country,” said Azoria CEO James Fishback, commenting on “Varney & Co.” Wednesday. “[Students’] The big fear, as youth unemployment is now double the national average, is that they will not get jobs as Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple turn to foreigners from India and China to replace those roles.”
BUSINESS LEADERS WARN TRUMP’S $100,000 H-1B VISA FEES COULD HARM INNOVATION AND DRIVE TALENT FROM US
“Made in America must go one step further: made in America by Americans,” he continued. “The whole social contract of America is that we put our people first. If we have qualified Americans looking for jobs and they’re passed over because a Fortune 500 company wants to take cheap labor from India and exploit that labor, that’s not OK.”
The exterior of a Walmart store in East Meadow, New York, on September 16, 2025. (Getty Images)
Last month, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring the issuance of H-1B visas by requiring applicants to pay a $100,000 fee starting September 21, a move that prompted a lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber alleges that the fee illegally nullifies provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that apply to the H-1B visa program, including the requirement that fees reflect government processing costs.
Coresight Research Founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig explains Walmart’s new partnership with OpenAI to integrate AI into the holiday shopping experience on “The Claman Countdown.”
The H-1B visa program allows employers to hire foreign workers in specialized occupations that require specific expertise and at least a bachelor’s degree. H-1B workers have a temporary permit to work in the US, although the visa is renewable.
The intent of the program is to give employers access to talent unavailable to the domestic workforce, and the law requires companies to certify that wages for H-1B workers are comparable to those of comparable U.S. workers.
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Walmart’s U.S. President and CEO John Furner describes the company’s philanthropic efforts for hurricane relief, how they are “keeping prices low” and expanding the brand’s presence.
“We absolutely have to take the best of the best, and that is what the O-1 visa program allows us to do,” Fishback noted. “If you are a top AI scientist from China and you want to help OpenAI beat China’s AI arms race and put us right at the top, then absolutely bring them on.”
“I think the way to do this is to let the market decide how you do it, and you do that by actually creating a floor with the scope to actually end the H-1B program completely,” he added. “If you say you can’t afford $100,000 a year to pay a skilled worker, then ultimately they’re not that skilled.”
