University system decision-makers expressed a willingness to be nimble as they voted to pause H-1B visas at state universities until next year.
The move followed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call for universities to eliminate the visas, which allow foreigners in specialty occupations to temporarily work in the United States.
Board of Governors Chair Alan Levine during a virtual meeting Monday pointed to medical schools in particular that rely on the visas. “[University of Florida] uniquely has a lot of faculty that rely on the H-1B visa currently,” Levine, also CEO of a hospital system headquartered in Tennessee, said.
“I’ve asked the chancellor to continue working with the university presidents so that we can on a real-time basis, as we’re collecting this data, to focus first on health and wellness, collect the data we need on health and wellness. If we learn from that data there’s a need to come back and reopen that, we can do that, that’s the whole point of the pause and taking the time to collect the information,” Levine said.
The measure prohibits universities from using the H-1B program to hire “new employees” until Jan. 5, 2027. The change will not affect existing H-1B holders, according to system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues.
The state must study what role the visas should play in the future, once the pause expires.
Faculty representative Kimberly Dunn, an accounting professor at Florida Atlantic University, and student representative Carson Dale, Florida State University student body president, voted against measure in a 14-2 vote.
The two spoke against the measure extensively during the board’s last meeting, during which Dale warned it “would undermine meritocracy.”
Monday, each expressed concerns that the measure will hinder the state’s ability to recruit even after the pause ends. “Even if it is just a one-year pause, I think that that sends a message to people looking at Florida that it’s not going to be a place that they can count on to be able to come work,” Dale said.
The Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications. Part of the study, Rodrigues said, is calculating whether paying that fee might be worth it.
“It’s entirely possible, and even probable, that many of the comments that we’ve heard have really good points,” Levine said, adding that he’s met with faculty and university presidents who have provided feedback on the measure.
In the four months stakeholders have been discussing the pause, Rodrigues said, “no one has brought me a very specific example of where they would need an exception to this pause; however, should an access issue emerge, under our existing processes of emergency regulations we could turn around a response in 72 hours.”
Who is hosting?
The four educational institutions in Florida that use the most H-1B visas all operate medical schools.
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.
In October, DeSantis said during a news conference that the Board of Governors should fully “pull the plug” on the visas.
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 in January.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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