Florida Board of Governors Moves to Freeze H-1B Visas at Public Universities, Stifling Expertise

Following through with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wishes, the Florida Board of Governors preliminarily voted Thursday to freeze public university H-1B visa hiring for a year, leaving hopeful international academics without that option.

During a meeting at Florida State University, the overseers of the State University System started discussion on the matter, prompted by President Donald Trump and DeSantis.

The board’s action Thursday was formally a notice of intent, meaning the policy isn’t up for approval until the board’s next meeting, on Feb. 23.

The board language would prohibit universities from using the H-1B program to hire “new employees” until Jan. 5, 2027. The change would not affect current H-1B holders, according to system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues. The visas allow foreigners in specialty occupations to temporarily work in the United States.

“As you may know, the Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications. During this pause, if approved, the board office working with our universities will be studying the cost of the H-1B program as well as how the program is used by our universities,” Rodrigues said.

Rodrigues said one concern is that employers use the visa to bring in employees at lower than market wages. The state will research salaries of university workers to determine how that may play in Florida.

Faculty representative Kimberly Dunn, an accounting professor at Florida Atlantic University, took issue with the proposal.

“Whether it’s a pediatric cancer surgeon or globally recognized researcher, these individuals directly contribute to Floridians health, safety, and economic success. In many cases, the H-1B visa is the only viable pathway for bringing this level of expertise to our state,” Dunn said.

In Fiscal Year 2025, the University of Florida had the fourth most H-1B recipients of any organization in the state of Florida, with 253; that was the most among higher education institutions in the state. The University of Miami, which is not part of the state university system, had the sixth-most recipients, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Florida State University had 110 recipients in that fiscal year, the University of South Florida had 107, and the University of Central Florida had 47. Other universities in the system hosted H-1B recipients, although fewer than the institutions listed here.

“If an issue arises that’s unforeseen, particularly in areas like medical schools, faculty, engineering, where we have contracts with [the] Defense Department, things like that where there’s issues that become a concern for you, please bring those to the chancellor so that we can make a decision about how to address it; we can always bring the group back together again if we need to,” Board Chair Alan Levine said.

Levine encouraged faculty to provide feedback on the regulation. Public comment is open for 14 days.

“There are other visa programs; we are not stopping the use of visas,” Levine “It’s just this one program; we need to gather more information and make an informed policy decision.”

The board’s student representative, FSU Student Body President Carson Dale, said the proposal would undermine meritocracy.

“In practice, this is not a neutral reform. It is a categorical restriction that determines who we are allowed to consider regardless of who is most qualified. One of the defining principles of American higher education, and particularly of Florida public universities, is a commitment to merit. We value a candidate based on the quality of their scholarship, passion for discovery, and their contributions to knowledge, not on their country of birth,” Dale said.

The board approved a notice of intent, too, prohibiting discrimination based on “race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.”

In October, DeSantis said during a news conference that the Board of Governors should fully “pull the plug” on the visas. That was a month after Trump announced a $100,000 fee for future H1-B visa applications amid his administration’s broader efforts to stop illegal immigration and roadblock non-Americans from working in the United States.

DeSantis likened the visas to “indentured servitude” and derided how “troubling” it is that Florida universities are relying on what he described as cheap labor — especially as workers nationwide are experiencing layoffs due to artificial intelligence and a elevated effort toward government efficiency, including federal furloughs.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed that state’s universities to freeze new H-1B visa applications this week.