Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped a bombshell that he would not allow Florida colleges and universities to hire H-1Bs. In a news conference in Tampa, DeSantis came prepared with a list of unnecessary posts filled with H-1Bs that could have been easily done by any American, he said as he defended ‘Florida First’ in his new push to eliminate H-1Bs from the state. “Are you kidding me?” he said as he produced the list of H-1B posts in universities, including public policy professor from China, graphic designer from Canada, assistant swim coach from Spain. “We can’t produce an assistant swim coach in this country?” H-1B is a visa program that allows US companies to hire foreign talent. The major benefactors of this program are tech companies but higher education sector also ropes in foreign employees, mostly in medical education sector. But the list DeSantis had was full of regular jobs and not high-skill ones.“Universities should be able to fill basic positions without resorting to H1B visas. If they need people to fill a certain job they are in a great position to structure their educational programs to fill that need with their own graduates,” DeSantis said.
O visa, not H-1B
DeSantis was asked on X whether there will be any exceptions for cutting-edge academics like Nobel laureates. “Would you make exceptions for cutting-edge academics? It would be great to see some Nobel laureates recruited to FSU or UF,” one asked DeSantis. “That would be the O visa, not H1B,” DeSantis replied, making it clear that he’s well prepared for the action he is taking. The O-1 visa is a temporary work visa designated for individuals who have achieved and sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or individuals who have demonstrated a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industries.
Will H-B ban in Florida universities be implemented?
Until June this year, about 400 H-1B visa applications were approved for 12 universities in the state, with the University of Florida being the highest H-1B recruiter with 156 H-1B employees.“Limiting H-1B visas in Florida would threaten the public purpose of higher education in the state by undermining the ability to recruit and retain top international faculty, researchers and students,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, as reported by the New York Times.She said that the Florida board does not have the authority to revoke or eliminate H-1B visas, since they are regulated by the federal government. But, she added, state boards can make policy changes to reduce or stop sponsoring such visas, a move that would most likely result in court challenges.
