Texas Pauses Use of H-1B Visas at State Universities

Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, ordered all state colleges and universities to freeze their applications for new H-1B visas, The Texas Tribune reported. 

The pause, announced Tuesday afternoon, will last until May 31, 2027, though some institutions may be able to proceed if granted written permission by the Texas Workforce Commission.

“State government must lead by example and ensure that employment opportunities—particularly those funded with taxpayer dollars—are filled by Texans first,” Abbott told the Tribune.

Texas’s halt on hiring visa holders comes on the heels of a proposed pause in Florida. Colleges and other industries use the visa program to attract skilled workers. To qualify for one, a worker must be employed in a “specialty occupation” that requires “highly specialized knowledge,” according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

In an effort to restrict access to the visas, the Trump administration added a $100,000 fee for new applicants in September, which colleges have said would be detrimental to the recruitment and retention of international faculty, researchers and staff members.

The decision in Texas came less than 24 hours after Abbott first announced publicly that he was considering such a move and had requested records on all H-1B visa–holding employees at the state’s public universities and K–12 schools.

News of the record collection was first made public Saturday by Quorum Report, a nonpartisan newsletter focused on Texas politics. The Report obtained internal emails between the governor’s office and key leaders in the Texas A&M University system discussing the request. 

Abbott’s interest was then confirmed Monday on a conservative radio talk show, where the governor said he intends to have an “action plan” released by the end of the week.

On the radio show, Abbott suggested that some visa holders may have overstayed their legal welcome, adding that those are “the type of people that the Trump administration is trying to remove.”

Tuesday’s freeze on new applications will not relieve institutions of filing reports about their current visa holders. The state government wants data on the number of new or renewed visa petitions filed in 2025, the number of current sponsorees, their job titles, countries of origin and visa expiration dates. Abbott has also asked institutions to provide evidence that they made a good-faith effort to hire qualified Texans before filing the position internationally, according to the Tribune.