The all-out panic in the tech industry has subsided. Now comes the debate: Will President Trump’s move to charge $100,000 to apply for a coveted H-1B visa help or hurt Silicon Valley?

After a weekend of chaos in which Amazon.com, Microsoft and other tech giants advised employees holding the skilled-worker visas to race home from overseas, administration officials restored calm, clarifying that the proposed fee would only apply to new H-1B applications starting next year.

By Monday, some prominent industry leaders were offering measured enthusiasm for the policy. In a joint CNBC interview, Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed cautious optimism about the change.

In a post on X, Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings called it “a great solution,” predicting it would eliminate the need for a lottery to award H-1Bs by discouraging applications for anything other than high-value jobs.

Many in the industry have said abuse of H-1Bs is a problem, with staffing firms using them to bring in IT workers without special skills, but who will work for below-market wages and be unlikely to change jobs. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security proposed new rules that would tilt the lottery’s odds in favor of higher-paid workers.

Still, a number of startup founders and investors argued that the size of the fee creates a barrier that only large, well-capitalized companies will be able to navigate.

📆 Earnings

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📈 Economic Indicators

The Census Bureau reports new-home sales for August.

Chair Jerome Powell said he judged the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate stance as “still modestly restrictive” even after last week’s rate cut, implying more wiggle room to reduce rates this year if officials continue to judge that recent labor-market softness outweighs setbacks on inflation.

Powell, at a talk in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday afternoon, largely reiterated points he made at a press conference following last week’s rate cut. He highlighted how the Fed faces challenges in achieving both of its goals to keep inflation low and stable while promoting healthy labor markets.

“Two-sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path,” Powell said. Cutting rates too much, too fast could allow inflation to continue to run closer to 3% than to the Fed’s 2% target, he said, while leaving a restrictive policy stance in place for too long could unnecessarily soften labor markets.

📰 Other headlines

• Wall Street Is Poaching Bankers in a Red-Hot Job Market
• Inside Trump’s Chaotic Overhaul of the H-1B Visa
• High Earners Age 50 and Older Are About to Lose a Major 401(k) Tax Break
• OpenAI Unveils Plans for Seemingly Limitless Expansion of Computing Power
• Kenvue Braces for Wave of New Lawsuits Over Tylenol’s Potential Link to Autism
• Amazon Plans to Shut U.K. Grocery Stores
• Eli Lilly to Build $6.5 Billion Texas Facility to Boost U.S. Ingredient Manufacturing
• Sinclair, Nexstar Won’t Air Jimmy Kimmel’s Late-Night Return
• U.S. Mid-Atlantic Factory Activity Declines More Severely as Fed Cuts Rates
• Boeing Chooses Palantir to Boost AI Adoption in Defense, Space Unit

📈 Earnings wrapup

• Micron Technology Revenue Jumps 46%, Guidance Tops Street’s Estimates
• AutoZone Says Higher Prices From Tariffs Won’t Keep Customers Away
• McKesson Lifts Annual Forecast, Targeting Platforms Growth

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GitLab, the provider of software-development tools, named James Shen as interim chief financial officer. He succeeds Brian Robins, who resigned from the position as of Sept. 19. Shen serves as the company’s vice president of finance and has held various finance roles since joining the company in January 2021. He was previously in finance roles at Meta and Rainforest QA.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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