Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who recently banned the hiring of H-1B visa holders in state agencies and higher education institutions for a year, said the issue is complicated as H-1B is a federal visa program but is used by private employers. In a recent interview, Abbott said Donald Trump’s announcement of a $100,000 visa fee was a ‘curtailment’ for the visa program, but several shocking facts were reported in Texas that H-1B visa holders are being hired even by public schools and universities. Abbott said that though this is a federal program, the state realized that they could do something themselves to freeze H-1B hiring by state agencies.Abbott said this move was taken to ensure that state agencies were not using taxpayers’ dollars to give a visa to some foreign workers. “We have Texans who could be performing these jobs,” the governor said. The alleged H-1B fraud in Texas needs investigation and hence the freeze has been put in place, Abbott said, adding that there could be interim hearings by the legislature before the session begins to find out what has been going on. “When we do get into the session, we will be able to provide a more precise piece of legislation to make sure that we curtail the use of H-1B visas in state government hiring,” Abbott said. Are H-1B visas a good idea, Abbott was asked in the interview. “Oftentimes, H-1Bs are taking the jobs that Texas could have. H-1B visas, according to reports, pose some very serious problems in universities,” Abbott said, citing the example of Chinese H-1B obtaining intellectual property information. “Elon Musk came here with an H-1B visa. That was a good investment to have him come here. So this has to be executed with a precise point about what you are trying to achieve. That was the original intent and purpose of it, but then it turned into a chaotic process, taking away jobs from Texans,” the Guv said.Elon Musk, however, did not come to the US on an H-1B visa but on a student visa, and it is believed that when he started working, he was sponsored on an H-1B visa.
