In a routine meeting held on Jan. 29, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) discussed a potential pause on future H-1B hiring across all Florida public universities. If approved, this motion – introduced with a notice of intent from the State University System of Florida (SUSF) and Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues – could have direct consequences for how public universities across the state recruit faculty and fundamentally operate.
The visa is intended for non-immigrants, or individuals who reside in the U.S. for a limited period. In Florida, holders of H-1B visas are primarily employed in public university positions and are relied on to conduct critical work.
The majority of beneficiaries undertake positions in specialty occupations per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) guidelines. This could apply to faculty roles, such as assistant professors or full-time professors. H-1B recipients are also often recognized in academic medicine as advanced practice providers and medical researchers. Their work can be attributed to STEM functions in all of its innovative fields as well…