Texas Governor Freezes H-1B Visa Applications

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a halt on new H-1B visa applications across all state agencies. This decision, announced on Tuesday, was made in light of recent fraud reports within the federal H-1B visa program. Additionally, Abbott cited ongoing federal evaluations to ensure that American jobs are prioritized for American workers.

Blaze TV host Sarah Gonzalez, who has been investigating potential H-1B visa fraud in Texas, expressed her support for Abbott’s directive. Earlier this month, she highlighted significant issues with how the program has been utilized in the state.

“Bad actors abused this program by failing to make a good faith effort to hire qualified American workers before attempting to take advantage of foreign workers.”

Gonzalez mentioned her satisfaction with the governor’s response, stating, “I am very pleased to hear that our efforts to expose abuses in the H-1B system are being taken seriously. I commend Governor Abbott for taking the necessary steps to protect American workers in Texas from losing their jobs.” She added a hope that this is just the beginning of a broader action plan to address these concerns.

As part of her investigation, Gonzalez looked into two companies that have heavily relied on foreign workers: 3Bees Technologies and Cubits Tech Systems. In 2022, 3Bees had 27 H-1B beneficiaries approved, although 19 applications were denied the following year. Cubits Tech had 12 approved beneficiaries last year.

During her visits to the companies, Gonzalez found surprising conditions; one location was an empty construction site, while another consisted of a tiny room with just a single chair. Such findings raised suspicions about the legitimacy of the companies and their visa sponsorships.

“As soon as you start collecting data from the H-1B database, you start to see all these patterns,” Gonzalez noted in her report. “If I could find this with just a little Google search, why didn’t others?”

In response to inquiries, Abbott’s office pointed to his instructions, which outlined evidence of abuses within the H-1B program. “Employers have fired American workers and replaced them with H-1B employees, often at lower wages,” the directive stated.

Abbott’s order restricts state agencies from filing new petitions for nonimmigrant workers under the H-1B program without explicit permission from the Texas Labor Commission. He’s also required public universities and other agencies to provide data on current H-1B visa holders, including their nations of origin and the steps taken to ensure Texan applicants had a fair chance at these positions.

“State government must lead by example and ensure that job opportunities, especially taxpayer-funded job opportunities, are first filled by Texans,” Abbott emphasized in his directive.

The H-1B visa program permits U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for specialized jobs that Americans may not be available to fill. Generally, the visa is valid for three years and can be extended for another three years in most cases.

While Republicans are taking action, leaders from both parties have voiced concerns about issues surrounding H-1B visa fraud and abuse. Some lawmakers are calling for reforms or even the abolition of the program.

Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services indicates that over 41,500 H-1B visa recipients were approved in Texas in the fiscal year 2025, with major sponsors including Oracle America Inc., Tesla Inc., AT&T Services Inc., Hewlett Packard, and Texas A&M University.