A newly disclosed federal review found roughly 100 H-1B visa cases tied to diversity-related roles, fueling a political clash over how the program is used in education and public institutions.
An April 21 letter by Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph B. Edlow, shared online by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), states that USCIS identified “approximately 100 cases” between fiscal years 2021 and 2024 in which H-1B petitions referenced terms such as “diversity,” “equity,” or “inclusion,” with roles appearing to be DEI-related to some degree, according to the agency’s response.
“I’ve spent the last year working with USCIS to root out and terminate H-1B abuses. We’ve worked together to expose how the Left weaponized H-1Bs into a DEI fraud factory. We’re shutting it down. Here’s the most recent data,” Schmitt wrote in the post.
I’ve spent the last year working with USCIS to root out and terminate H-1B abuses.
We've worked together to expose how the Left weaponized H-1Bs into a DEI fraud factory.
We're shutting it down. Here's the most recent data. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/zsZUyl4AQa
— Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) April 30, 2026
USCIS stated that the review excluded unrelated roles containing similar terms, such as “private equity,” and described the findings as part of an “initial analysis.” The agency also said it has directed its Office of Policy and Strategy to develop updates aimed at preventing what it described as an abuse of the H-1B program “via DEI initiatives.”
The letter comes amid broader changes to the visa system under President Donald Trump, including a September 2025 proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B petitions. USCIS characterized the policy as “an important, initial, and incremental step to reform the H-1B visa program to curb abuses and protect American workers.”
Schmitt, in additional posts, alleged that many of the positions were located at “taxpayer-funded universities & hospitals” and argued that the program had strayed from its original intent. “H-1B was meant for real hyper-specialized job shortages, not HR woke enforcers or ‘social justice’ managers,” he wrote.
Publicly available advocacy materials from higher education groups rarely directly defend DEI-specific hiring through H-1B visas. Instead, organizations such as the American Association of University Professors have broadly defended the program in other terms, stating it provides a “critical path for the United States to attract highly skilled professionals from around the world to fill urgent needs in the economy and public services to strengthen American innovation,” according to an October 2025 press release.
Other associations have warned that new restrictions, including the $100,000 fee, could limit universities’ ability to recruit international faculty and researchers, particularly in fields such as health care, engineering, and computer science.
The debate over how H-1B visas are used in education has intensified in Texas, where public records have revealed significant spending tied to the program.
Texas A&M University spent more than $3.25 million on H-1B-related costs between 2020 and late 2025, including sponsorship and legal processing, according to records obtained by The Dallas Express. The filings included roles ranging from instructional positions to communications and design jobs, raising questions about whether all positions met the spirit of the program’s “specialty occupation” standard, according to that reporting.
Similarly, the Dallas Independent School District paid roughly $2.54 million to an outside law firm under a diversity-designated contract to process H-1B visa applications and related services over a five-year period, covering nearly 600 transactions, according to district records previously reported by The Dallas Express. The positions included bilingual education roles as well as business and administrative jobs.
Federal data show that the majority of H-1B visas are awarded to workers from India and China, accounting for roughly 72% and 12%, respectively.
The H-1B visa program is a federal program that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for mostly white-collar positions that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree.
While AAUP’s materials contend that the H-1B program exists to fill “urgent needs” in the economy, the text of the Immigration Act of 1990 does not require that U.S. employers have an urgent need or even that they seek out an American worker before pursuing alien labor, in most cases.
Likewise, the prevailing federal policy understanding of “specialized” labor is not confined to fields such as rocket science; in practice, it generally applies to most jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree in any subject, so long as the degree pertains to the job.
Critics, including Schmitt, contend that the money universities spend on hiring alien labor would be better spent on the domestic workforce. “H-1B legal costs could’ve funded American research or American scholarships,” Schmitt wrote on X.
The USCIS letter did not provide detailed breakdowns of the identified DEI-related roles, and it remains unclear how many were in education versus other sectors. The agency indicated further policy development is underway and said it would coordinate with lawmakers on potential legislative or regulatory changes.
The revelation that DEI jobs have gone to foreign labor raises questions about its impact on America’s black middle class. In the private sector and public universities, a Chief Diversity Officer’s salary averaged around $175,000 annually, according to Glassdoor estimates. A majority, 51.72%, of Chief Diversity Officer jobs at universities went to workers identified as black, usually women, according to a 2023 National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education survey.
As some state legislatures, including Texas, have reportedly shuttered university DEI programs amid concerns about racial discrimination and political advocacy, it is unclear why American DEI workers were not available to the employers cited by USCIS.
USCIS said it is prepared to provide additional briefings to Congress as its review continues.
