JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: India, US Should Remain ‘Best Friends’ Despite Tariff, Visa Tensions

Sharing his opinion on the India-USA relationship following the tariff hikes and H-1B visa turmoil, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said they should continue to be best friends despite India’s maintaining the non-alignment policy, according to a report of CNBC TV-18. Dimon also hoped that both countries would resolve ongoing trade issues.

Dimon said that the proclamation came out of the blue, adding that “I think they want to do something on the American side, and I think they want to do something on the Indian side. I am hoping that they resolve it intelligently. I think it would be good for both parties.”

Dimon further stated that he believed in merit-based immigration. He added that he would beg the President (Trump) – he has done a good job in border

control, but after that, we should have good immigration.

On H-1B visa fee turmoil, he said that they will be engaging with stakeholders and policymakers. For us, visas matter because we move people globally – experts who get promoted to new jobs in different markets, he added.

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Friday that imposes a $100,000 annual application fee for all H-1B visa petitions, which is expected to impact thousands of Indians, who make up the largest share of H-1B visa holders in the US.

The White House on Saturday (September 20) issued a major clarification to its new H-1B visa policy as panic swept through the tech industry. It said this fee will be a “one-time” payment for only new applicants, and not an annual fee. It will only be imposed on new applicants and not impact renewals as well as existing visa holders.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the clarification after US commerce secretary on Friday (September 19) said the H1-B visa fee has to be paid annually by new applicants and renewals. Her three-point clarification on X also said existing visa holders currently outside the US will “NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter”.

“To be clear: 1.) This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition. 2.) Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would; whatever ability they have to do that is not impacted by yesterday’s proclamation. 3.) This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders. It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle,” Leavitt said in a post on X.