Texas halts H-1B hiring at public universities, Florida plans similar move

Order bars new H-1B sponsorships at state agencies and public colleges till May 2027, citing jobs for Texans first

Texas public colleges and universities will stop hiring workers on H-1B visas after Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies and publicly funded institutions to immediately freeze new visa petitions.

 

The directive, issued on Tuesday, applies to state agencies led by gubernatorial appointees and public higher education institutions. It does not affect private-sector employers and will remain in force until May 31, 2027, marking the end of Texas’s next legislative session.

 

Abbott said the H-1B programme, widely used by universities to hire skilled foreign staff, has been used in ways that disadvantage American workers.

 

“State government must lead by example and ensure that employment opportunities, particularly those funded with taxpayer dollars, are filled by Texans first,” Abbott said in a letter sent to agency heads and reviewed by Business Standard.

   

What the freeze covers

 

Under the order, state agencies and public universities are barred from sponsoring new H-1B workers unless they receive approval from state labour regulators.

 

Abbott has also directed all state agencies and public institutions to submit a detailed compliance report to the Texas Workforce Commission by March 27, 2026. The report must identify:

 

1.  How many new and renewal H-1B petitions the entity submitted in 2025

2. How many H-1B visa holders the entity currently sponsors

3. The countries of origin of all H-1B visa holders currently sponsored

4. Job classifications and descriptions for each sponsored worker

5. The anticipated visa expiration date for each sponsored worker

6. Documentation showing efforts made to give qualified Texas candidates a reasonable opportunity to apply for each position filled

 

The reporting requirement applies while the hiring freeze remains in force.

 

Universities and research centres most exposed

 

State entities, including universities, accounted for about 5% of all H-1B visas approved for Texas employers in the latest fiscal year, according to data from a federal website tracking visa approvals.

 

Most approvals went to private companies such as Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Oracle Corp. and Tesla Inc.

 

Within the public sector, the University of Texas and Texas A&M University are among the largest users of H-1B visas. Medical research facilities face particular exposure, including UT Southwestern Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center, which together employ hundreds of H-1B visa holders.

 

The universities and medical centres did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

Link to Trump-era changes

 

Abbott’s order comes four months after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation reshaping the H-1B programme at the federal level.

 

The changes introduced a new $100,000 application fee and prioritised higher-paid applicants, altering a system heavily used by technology firms and research institutions. Business groups have warned the changes could complicate recruitment for large US employers and weaken their ability to compete globally.

 

States testing the limits of federal control

 

Immigration policy is set at the federal level, but states retain control over hiring practices within their own agencies and publicly funded institutions.

 

Texas is not alone in re-examining its use of the H-1B visa.

 

In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing to restrict H-1B hiring for professors at state universities, arguing the visas are used to import “cheap foreign labour”.

 

The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s public universities, is scheduled to vote this week on a proposal to ban faculty hiring on H-1B visas for one year, according to the Orlando Sentinel. If approved, the measure would go to a final vote after two weeks of public comment.

 

In mid-2023, DeSantis instructed Florida’s public universities and state agencies to cut back their use of H-1B and other employment visas. Agencies were told to justify foreign hiring as “essential” and show that no qualified American worker was available before proceeding.

 

Following that directive, several Florida universities paused or sharply reduced new H-1B filings, particularly for teaching and research roles, even without a formal statewide ban.

 

The current proposal would turn those discretionary limits into a uniform, time-bound rule across all public campuses.

 

Pressure on university staffing

 

Universities across the US rely heavily on the H-1B programme to staff laboratories, engineering departments and medical research centres.

 

Colleges, from Ivy League institutions to large public universities, file thousands of H-1B petitions each year. As of 2023, about 58% of postdoctoral researchers in science, engineering and health fields were working on temporary visas such as the H-1B, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.

 

Abbott said Texas has invested billions of dollars in expanding education and workforce training and should not depend on foreign labour for roles that could be filled locally.

 

“We will not cede this distinction,” he wrote, describing the Texas workforce as among the most “proficient” in the country.

 

The College Station metropolitan area, home to Texas A&M University, recorded roughly seven H-1B visa approvals per 100 workers, the highest concentration in the US, according to a Pew Research Center report.