H-1B Hiring Freezes by States
Will Endanger Public Health and Hinder Economic Growth

Why This Matters:

• The H-1B visa is a critical pathway for highly skilled and educated people from around the world to stay and work in the U.S. in specialized jobs, including advanced health care and research. In fact, Congress found that government agencies hiring H-1Bs for critical research was so important that they exempted those workers from annual H-1B limits. The visa is sponsored by an employer for a specific, qualified job and employee and is subject to salary, education, and non-displacement requirements.
• For many international students who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities, especially in health care, the H-1B visa is the only pathway available to them. If employers are banned from using H-1Bs, they will not be able to hire those graduates, who will then take their U.S. education and training to our global competitors.
• For years, FWD.us and others have been working to reform our immigration system, including addressing inefficiencies in the H-1B visa program. But freezing hiring will do nothing to improve the program. This will only hurt Florida and Texas’ competitiveness and ability to serve its residents; the state-level freezes will have no impact on the number of H-1Bs awarded each year nationally or impose any reforms on the program, they will just ensure that other states get them instead.
• These policies are part of a larger effort to restrict legal immigration avenues. These avenues allow people to contribute to the U.S. workforce and economy, benefitting all Americans. Dramatically cutting legal immigration endangers our global competitiveness and will leave American communities smaller, poorer, and weaker, undermining economic prosperity and opportunity for U.S.-born citizens.
• The H-1B program in particular is a central component of America’s talent pipeline, enabling U.S. companies, research institutions, and health care providers to fill critical roles that cannot be met in the domestic labor market otherwise. More than 700,000 H-1B holders are currently working across the country. Their contributions drive innovation, strengthen the economy, and support job creation for U.S.-born workers.