Whataburger Restaurants LLC has received approval for seven H-1B visa beneficiaries in Texas since 2020, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) H-1 B Data Hub.
The jobs listed in associated Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) include mobile app developers, IT quality assurance analysts, and data integration specialists, per the H1B Salary Database and H1B Grader.
Whataburger had no H-1B footprint in the five years before its sale to BDT Capital Partners in 2019, according to the USCIS database.
The Dobson family has deep roots in Texas and founded and owned the brand for decades. Yet, they now retain only a minority interest after the sale, according to Texas Monthly.
While Whataburger’s use of foreign tech workers is modest compared to tech giants, it sets the burger chain apart from other Lone Star staples. Buc-ee’s, the Texas-based convenience store chain that is still under Texas ownership, does not appear to use H-1B labor, The Dallas Express previously reported. By contrast, American Airlines — another Texas company — employs hundreds of H-1B workers, particularly in IT and analysis roles, DX reported.
The H1B Salary Database indicates that Whataburger offers wages within the expected range for these tech positions. However, several pay rates fall slightly below the median salary for Texas listed on job sites such as Glassdoor.
The H-1B regulations require employers to pay “at least the prevailing wage or the employer’s actual wage, whichever is higher,” and to offer nonimmigrant workers the same benefits as U.S. employees.
Whataburger’s case reflects broader national debates over whether the H-1B program helps or harms American workers. A 2016 academic study from researchers at UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, and the U.S. Treasury found that additional H-1B visas correlated with “higher economic profits” for firms and “lower pay for H-1Bs than for alternative workers,” potentially enabling companies to substitute domestic labor.
The authors of the study wrote: “These results are more supportive of the narrative … in which H-1Bs crowd out alternative workers, are paid less … and thus increase the firm’s profits despite no measurable effect on innovation.”
Critics of the program argue that companies exploit regulatory loopholes to suppress wages.
The Department for Professional Employees (DPE), an AFL-CIO affiliate, asserts in its 2025 Fact Sheet that “Employers can and do underpay H-1B workers,” noting that in FY 2019, 60% of H-1B positions were paid at the two lowest federally permissible wage levels.
The DPE also highlights a lack of federal oversight and allegations that tech outsourcing firms utilize the program to offshore American jobs:
“Along with paying sub-standard wages, companies can use their control of the H-1B visa to take advantage of H-1B workers in other ways. Employers can require H-1B workers to work longer hours, skip holidays, and miss scheduled pay increases [Internal citation omitted]… If an H-1B worker says no, they risk being terminated and losing their legal status in the United States. H-1B employers can therefore use their virtual total control over whether an H-1B worker continues to live in the United States to intimidate workers into not speaking out or filing complaints with labor agencies.”
In contrast, the American Immigration Council, which supports more open immigration policies, argues that H-1B workers boost the U.S. economy, increase demand, and even create jobs for Americans. Its website states, “Many occupations for which H-1Bs are routinely requested … indicate that demand for labor exceeded the supply,” though it cites no underlying studies or data.
The program was created to help U.S. employers “who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce,” according to the Department of Labor website. However, current labor market data suggest a tightening job environment for American graduates in those same fields.
Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicate that unemployment among computer engineers is 7.5%, with underemployment at 17%. For computer science graduates, the numbers are similarly steep: 6.1% unemployment and 16.5% underemployment.
Texas, with major tech hubs in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, produces thousands of qualified STEM graduates annually. It remains unclear why Whataburger could not attract local talent or offer salaries sufficient to train or retain them, especially in light of its reported profit growth in the years following the private equity takeover.
Each H-1B visa petition can cost an employer between $4,000 and $33,000, depending on legal and filing fees, according to a 2024 Forbes report. Nevertheless, analysts at DPE indicate that companies often view these workers as a long-term cost-saving measure. What’s more, visa-related costs may extend beyond the employer-employee relationship. The H-4 visa, often issued to spouses of H-1B holders, can qualify for work authorization and allow children to attend public schools, introducing indirect costs to local school districts and labor markets.
Although Whataburger’s use of H-1B labor is legal and relatively limited in scale, it raises questions about the direction of iconic Texas brands under non-Texan ownership and whether cost-saving strategies are being implemented at the expense of local workers.
Whataburger did not respond to a request for comment from The Dallas Express by the time of publication.