Texas Governor Announces H-1B Visa Freeze For State Schools

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies and universities to immediately freeze all H-1B visa petitions in a letter to state agency heads on Tuesday.

Abbott wrote that the Texas economy should “work for the benefit of Texas workers and Texas employers.” The governor cited “recent reports of abuse” and the federal government’s “ongoing review” of the H-1B visa program.

“No state agency controlled by a gubernatorially appointed head or public institution of higher education shall, without the written permission of the Texas Workforce Commission, initiate or file any new petition to sponsor a nonimmigrant worker under the federal H-1B visa program until the end of the Texas Legislature’s 90th Regular Session on May 31, 2027,” the letter read in part.

The governor also directed all state agencies to provide a report to the Texas Workforce Commission by Mar. 27, 2026, including the number of H-1B visa holders currently employed, their countries of origin and “documentation demonstrating efforts to provide qualified Texas candidates with a reasonable opportunity to apply for each position filled by an H-1B visa holder.”

“Rather than serving its intended purpose of attracting the best and brightest individuals from around the world to our nation to fill truly specialized and unmet labor needs,” Abbott wrote. “The program has too often been used to fill jobs that otherwise could—and should—have been filled by Texans.”

The governor wrote in an X post that “Texans come first.”

Abbott is also the first governor to freeze H-1B petitions statewide in the country.