Texas governor halts state government agencies and public universities from submitting new H-1B visa applications.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered an investigation into the state's H-1B visa program and has instructed state government agencies and public universities to immediately suspend new H-1B visa applications, further tightening a visa program that was previously significantly reformed by President Trump.

Exceptions can be made with written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission. This suspension measure does not affect private sector businesses and will last until May 31, 2027, the end of the next legislative session in Texas.

Abbott stated that the visa program allows public universities to widely recruit high-skilled foreign employees, which in practice undermines the interests of domestic American workers. In a letter to agency heads on Tuesday, Abbott said, "State government must set an example to ensure job opportunities, especially those funded by taxpayers, are given priority to Texas residents."

The H-1B visa is a type of temporary work visa in the United States, and is a non-immigrant visa, typically valid for three years and extendable to six years. This visa allows American companies to hire foreign professionals to fill positions that are difficult to staff with domestic talent, and is mainly used by U.S. tech companies to attract highly educated foreign talent.

Four months before Abbott issued this order, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications and giving priority to high-salary applicants, radically reshaping the visa program widely used by tech firms. Business groups have warned that these changes may make it more difficult for large U.S. employers to recruit global talent and could weaken their international competitiveness.

According to a federal government website tracking relevant data, in the most recent fiscal year, only about 5% of the top 25 employers in Texas with the most H-1B visa approvals were state entities (including public universities). The vast majority of visas were issued to employees in private companies, including firms like Cognizant, Oracle, and Tesla.

Within the Texas public sector, the main users of H-1B visas include the University of Texas system and Texas A&M University. Medical research institutions are particularly affected, such as UT Southwestern Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center, which together employ hundreds of H-1B visa holders.

During the effective period of Abbott's directive, state government agencies and public higher education institutions led by officials appointed by the governor may not sponsor new H-1B employees without approval from the state’s labor regulatory department.

In addition, by late March of this year, relevant institutions must also submit detailed reports specifying the number of H-1B employees hired, their job categories, countries of origin, visa expiration times, and evidence of efforts made to recruit local Texas candidates.

Florida’s Proposal

Immigration policy is set by the federal government, but states can decide whether their own agencies and publicly funded institutions employ foreign workers.

Texas is not the only state reviewing the H-1B program. In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing to limit state universities’ use of H-1B visas, claiming the program is used to bring in "cheap foreign labor."

The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, plans to vote this week on a proposal to ban hiring teachers under H-1B visa status for one year. If passed, the plan will be subject to a two-week public comment period before a final vote.

Texas's action comes as the Trump administration is sharply tightening immigration policy through almost every channel. The White House has strengthened border enforcement and increased scrutiny of employment-based visas, including H-1B, even those aimed at high-skilled workers.

Universities have become one of the directly affected parties by the tightening of H-1B policies.

Universities across the United States, from Ivy League schools to large public universities, apply for thousands of H-1B visas each year for staffing labs, engineering projects, and medical research centers. According to data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, as of 2023, about 58% of postdoctoral researchers in the fields of science, engineering, and health work on temporary visas, including H-1B.

Abbott stated that Texas has invested tens of billions of dollars in recent years to expand education and workforce training and should not rely on foreign labor to fill positions that could be performed by local talent. “We will not give up this advantage,” he wrote, adding that Texas’s workforce is “among the most efficient and capable in the country.”

A report from the Pew Research Center shows that College Station, Texas—the location of Texas A&M University—has about 7 H-1B visa approvals for every 100 workers, the highest concentration in the nation.

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