After Texas, Public universities in Florida also are pausing the hiring of new employees through the H-1B visa program. The decision comes months after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called on state schools to crack down on what he described as “visa abuse” in higher education.
Florida universities to pause new H-1B hiring: Who will be impacted?
Florida’s public universities will temporarily stop hiring new foreign faculty members through the H-1B visa program. The pause applies only to new hires at the 12 schools that are part of the State University System of Florida.
The Florida Board of Governors which manages the state’s public universities has voted to keep this temporary ban in place until January 5 next year.
Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, stated last month that a suspension of H1-B visa hiring, if sanctioned, would last until January 5, 2027. This pause would allow for an examination of the program’s costs “as well as how the program is used by our universities.”
This suspension would not impact current employees who were hired under the H1-B program at Florida institutions, but it would affect prospective new hires.
According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, around more than 600 people were approved for H-1B visas by these 12 Florida universities last year.
However, in October, Governor Ron DeSantis said, “Universities across the country are importing foreign workers on H-1B visas instead of hiring Americans who are qualified and available to do the job. We will not tolerate H-1B abuse in Florida institutions. That’s why I have directed the Florida Board of Governors to end this practice.”
He also claimed that US universities “were importing foreign workers on H-1B visas instead of hiring Americans who are qualified and available to do the job.”
What does the H-1B visa program allow?
The H-1B visa program allows employers to hire highly skilled professionals in specialised occupations, mainly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to work in the United States.
The program provides 65,000 visas each year along with an additional 20,000 visas for workers who hold advanced degrees. These visas are approved for a period of three to six years.
Texas orders investigation and freeze
In late January, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into the H-1B visa program within the state. He also directed state agencies and universities to suspend new visa petitions.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa program, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that program to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions,” Abbott said in a letter to state agencies.
