USAA Tops San Antonio H-1B List: Full Rankings Revealed

Many of San Antonio’s largest financial, energy, and research institutions dominated H-1B visa approvals from 2020 through 2025, according to newly refreshed federal data.

Figures released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and compiled by The Dallas Express rank the top 25 employers, listing San Antonio as the city with the most H-1B approvals between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. The database was recently updated to include approvals from the final months of 2025 that had not previously been published.

Topping the list is United Services Automobile Association, which recorded 616 approvals during the six-year span. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio followed with 403 approvals, while H-E-B LP ranked third with 216.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Rackspace US Inc rounded out the top five.

The rankings reflect only petitioners listing San Antonio as their city and do not include employers in surrounding communities such as New Braunfels or Schertz.

Here is the consolidated table based on refreshed USCIS data and compiled by The Dallas Express:

*Indicates that the company appears under multiple nearly identical names in the data, and the approvals have been consolidated.

The concentration of approvals among financial services, energy, higher education, and research institutions mirrors broader statewide trends previously identified by The Dallas Express, where large corporations and public universities often account for a significant share of H-1B filings.

Annual federal data sets indicate that approximately 72% of H-1B visas are awarded to workers from India, with roughly 12% going to workers from China.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in certain occupations that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree, and the visas can last up to 6 years and sometimes longer.

Supporters argue it is necessary to fill highly skilled positions, particularly in engineering, technology, finance, and medical research, while critics contend the program can be used to undercut U.S. workers or reshape workforce demographics, The Dallas Express previously reported.

Recent litigation has drawn attention to how some employers use the visa program. In December, a federal judge ruled that certain policies from Cognizant Technology Solutions had a disparate impact on some U.S. workers, according to prior reporting by The Dallas Express. Court filings in that case alleged the company engineered a workforce heavily reliant on H-1B holders from South Asia and disproportionately terminated certain non-Visa employees. Cognizant has indicated it plans to appeal.

The release of the refreshed San Antonio data comes as Governor Greg Abbott’s order halting new H-1B petitions at Texas state agencies and public universities remains in effect. Abbott directed agencies in January 2026 to freeze new filings and submit reports detailing their use of the program, citing what he described as “recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa program,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The pause is set to continue until the end of the Texas Legislature’s 90th Regular Session on May 31, 2027.

The Dallas Express reached out to United Services Automobile Association for comment regarding its use of the H-1B program, but did not receive a response by publication time.