Florida — In response to Governor Ron DeSantis’s directive to end the use of H-1B visas, Florida State University, (FSU), and the University of South Florida, (USF), are now working with state officials & conducting their own internal evaluations.

This announcement comes on the heels of a separate federal action, back in Sept. 2025. That increased the fee for new H-1B visa application(s) from overseas to $100,000.

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Creating an additional financial burden for universities who are seeking any international talent.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has now directed the state’s public universities to stop hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas. Earlier today, DeSantis cited the program as “abused” and advocated for the prioritization of American graduates.

This directive impacts institutions that have used H-1B visas extensively, particularly in research and STEM fields. The federal data for fiscal year 2025 showed University of Florida with the most approved visas, at a total of: 156.

University of South Florida, ( USF ), with: 72 beneficiaries.
Florida State University, ( FSU ), with: 69 beneficiaries.
University of Central Florida, ( UCF ), with: 28 beneficiaries.
Florida A&M University, ( FAMU ), with: 22 beneficiaries.
Florida Atlantic University, ( FAU ), with: 13 beneficiaries.

The program was originally enacted by Congress in 1990, to allow employers to hire foreigners with “highly specialized knowledge” and at least a bachelor’s degree.

Another directive derived from the DOGE push will be an end to grants issued to colleges, and universities, that include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The grants in particular that have those embedded as part of their project will be either repurposed or sent back to the federal government, according to DeSantis.

DOGE auditors also found $33 million in DEI related grants at Florida’s 12 public universities, and $10.6 million, at the 24 state colleges.

The number of H-1B visas is capped at 85,000 annually, with 20,000 who must have a master’s degree.

University of Florida President Dr. Donald Landry also, said: “We know that H-1B is not handled in a pristine fashion, even in academia, certainly not in business. So we endorse the review of H-1B, (and) we are conducting our own now.”

Currently, it is unclear how many more public universities will follow University of Florida, by conducting their own review.

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