TOI correspondant from Washington: Two years after he led a second trade mission to India seeking closer energy and tech ties, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has dropped a hammer on H-1B visas. Responding to growing MAGA sentiment against all immigration amid allegations of visa fraud, Abbott on Tuesday ordered an immediate freeze on new H-1B petitions by all state agencies and public universities.
In a letter to agency heads, the Texas governor cited “recent reports of abuse,” in the H-1B program — designed to allow employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations — to assert that it has been misused to replace qualified Americans with lower-paid labor.
