Abbott orders Texas public universities and agencies to freeze H-1B visa petitions: what international workers need to know about career impact and reporting requirements
The directive affects foreign workers seeking specialised roles at taxpayer-funded institutions across the state.Abbott, in conversation with conservative radio host Mark Davis, said the state is seeking detailed visa information from public universities and agencies before issuing an “action plan” for hiring international employees. He stated, “I don’t see any reason why we need any H-1B visa employees in our public schools in the state of Texas.
But we’re going to find out if there’s some unique skill set or whatever the case may be,” The Texas Tribune reports.
The freeze is part of a broader effort to ensure that positions funded with taxpayer dollars are prioritised for qualified Texans. Abbott told The Texas Tribune that agencies and universities must provide detailed reports to the Texas Workforce Commission, including the number of new or renewed H-1B petitions filed in 2025, the number of visa holders currently sponsored, job titles, countries of origin, and visa expiration dates. Institutions are also required to show efforts to provide Texans with a reasonable opportunity to apply for positions currently held by H-1B visa holders.State universities comply with H-1B freezeTexas A&M University System confirmed that it has already discontinued sponsoring new H-1B visa petitions requiring the $100,000 federal fee imposed by President Trump, The Texas Tribune reports. Chris Bryan, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, told The Texas Tribune, “We have received Governor Abbott’s directive ordering a freeze on new H-1B visa petitions at Texas public institutions of higher education, and we are fully complying with that directive.
”The University of Texas System and its 13 institutions have submitted their H-1B visa information to Abbott’s office, Randa Safady, vice chancellor for external relations, communications and advancement services, told The Texas Tribune. “The institutions are complying with the Governor’s directive by freezing new H-1B applications and will await further guidance on how the submission of requests to the Texas Workforce Commission for future hires may work,” she said.Visa expenditures and hiring dataEmails obtained by The Texas Tribune show that Abbott’s office asked Texas A&M University System leaders for detailed data on employees working under H-1B visas. The request followed reporting by the Dallas Express, which had filed a complaint with the Texas attorney general after seeking public records for months. Texas A&M reportedly spent about $3.25 million on H-1B visa sponsorships over roughly five years, while the University of Texas at Dallas spent about $1.1 million during a similar period, The Texas Tribune reports.Federal data cited by The Texas Tribune show that Dallas ISD employs 230 H-1B visa holders, the highest of any education-related employer in Texas, followed by UT Southwestern Medical Center with 220 and Texas A&M University with 210. Other major employers include UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas at Austin.Impact on international workers and specialised rolesH-1B visas allow employers to hire foreign workers for specialised positions that require at least a bachelor’s degree.
Universities and academic medical centres often use the visas to employ professors, researchers, doctors, and other highly trained staff. Miriam Feldblum, co-founder and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, told The Texas Tribune that recent federal policies, including the $100,000 fee, already challenge the competitiveness of US universities.Abbott suggested that some visa holders may have been admitted under previous administrations and could have overstayed.
“Those, again, are the type of people that the Trump administration is trying to remove,” he told The Texas Tribune.Texas joins other states in H-1B scrutinyTexas is not the only state monitoring H-1B usage in public institutions. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year directed the state’s public university system to curb H-1B employment, arguing universities were misusing the program and that US citizens should be prioritised. The Florida Board of Governors is considering a proposal to pause new H-1B hires through early 2027, The Texas Tribune reports.
