What Abbott's H-1B visa freeze means for Texas agencies, public universities

DALLAS - Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering Texas public universities and state agencies to freeze the H-1B visa processes. The program allows foreign-born workers and students to legally live and work in the United States.

Many worry that the governor’s order will jeopardize medical research and PhD programs that rely heavily on the visa program to attract talent.

Texas H-1B Visa Freeze

What we know:

Earlier this week, Abbott directed all public universities and state agencies to freeze new visa applications. They will not be allowed to file new visa petitions without permission from the Texas Workforce Commission until May 2027.

Abbott said the pause is intended to give the Texas Legislature time to consider statutory changes, for Congress to revise federal law, and for the federal administration to implement reforms to the H-1B visa program.

He cited reports of misuse and a federal review of the program’s administration. Abbott also referenced Trump’s presidential proclamation from Sept. 2025, stating that the visa program was intended to supplement the U.S. workforce rather than replace American workers. 

What they're saying:

Abbott joined the Mark Davis radio show to talk about his order.

"What job is it in our public schools, in the state of Texas that these H-1B visa personnel are fulfilling that we can’t fulfill here in our own public schools? I mean, those exactly are the types of questions that we’re looking at," he said. "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 gonna find out if there’s some unique skillset or whatever the case may be. And again, we don’t know who these people are, how they were allowed in. We do know they were allotted by the federal government, but we don’t know why."

The other side:

Todd Schulte is the president of FWD.us, a bipartisan policy organization. He said the H-1B program is not perfect, but it fills a critical gap for skilled workers in the country.

"The idea that Texas would turn its back on incredibly talented people here isn’t just bad for those people, it’s bad for everyone in Texas. And limiting the H-1B visa, restricting the ability for public sector institutions to use it here is going to hurt all Texans," Schulte said. "For people who need to get healthcare in a rural area here, or they want to be able to go to the best cancer research institution in the world, both things are gonna be better if people can come from around the world and study and stay here. Know, if people are graduating from the University of Texas, the idea that we would make it harder for them to stay and fully contribute is going to hurt everybody here."

By the numbers:

FOX 4 looked at federal data, which showed Irving-based Cognizant Tech Solutions is the largest employer of people on this type of visa in Texas.

American Airlines and AT&T are also in the top 25. 

When it comes to public education, Dallas ISD has 230 employees on the visa. Texas A&M has 214.

Big picture view:

Texas is not the first state to make an order like this. Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed state public universities to consider a pause on new visas until 2027.