Governor of US state where Elon Musk wants all companies to move has ‘banned’ H1-B visas for more than one year

Texas governor Greg Abbott has ordered an immediate freeze on new H-1B visa hiring across the state agencies and public universities. The announcement comes at a time when Elon Musk is urging businesses and encouraging professionals to move to Austin, Texas. Musk has already moved Tesla’s headquarters to Austin and has been a vocal supporter of the city. The executive directive by Abbott remains in effect until May 31, 2027.

Citing “abuse” of the federal program, Texas governor has ordered that all state bodies to halt new petitions for the high-skilled worker visa.

“Texans come first. I’m directing state agencies and universities to freeze new H-1B visa petitions. Texas taxpayers invest billions to train our workforce. Those jobs should go to Texans. Texas is the strongest economic engine in America. We’re going to keep it that way,” he said in a post on X.

Elon Musk’ call to businesses to move to Texas

Abbott’s new policy suggests a narrowing of the gate even as Musk has championed tech companies to move to the state as it promises a world-class environment that “gets better every year”.

“Move to Austin! It gets better very year. So many cool, world-class people are moving to Austin from SF, LA, NY, London and many other parts of the world! Austin++” Musk said in a post on X in November.

However, this ‘policy shift’ may be a problem for private firms like Musk’s Tesla and Oracle, which are among the state's largest private employers of H-1B holders.

Texas holds second-largest H1-B holders

Texas currently holds the second-highest number of H-1B workers in the country, trailing California. As of 2025, over 40,000 visa holders were approved to work for more than 6,100 employers in the state.

In addition to the hiring freeze, Abbott has demanded an audit of the current foreign workforce. By March 27, all agencies and public schools (K-12) are required to submit detailed reports including the number of new and renewal H-1B petitions filed in 2025, and the job roles and countries of origin for all currently sponsored visa holders.

“We want to make sure our communities are not having people come in and take jobs that Texans could easily fill,” Abbott said, as per media reports.

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