Fort Worth-based American Airlines (AA) is one of Texas’ largest users of foreign H-1B labor.
AA has 271 H-1B workers on its payroll, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) H-1B Employer Data Hub. This makes it the 11th largest H1B employer in the state between NTT Data Americas LLC (302) and EMC Corporation (254).
There were 165 H-1B applications filed for roles ranging from entry-level analysts to senior IT project managers, the H-1B Salary Database for 2024 reveals.
It is unclear what made the importation of labor for early career, business roles and various level IT jobs necessary. Texas is home to numerous collegiate business schools, including the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University and many others across public and private institutions.
The Lone Star State also boasts a variety of collegiate IT programs, including the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and similar IT-focused programs at nearly every public and private institution in the state.
Additionally, Texas has a developed tech sector in Austin and established business hubs in DFW and Houston.
“The H-1B program allows employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent,” the USCIS website stated.
The Department of Labor indicates that the purpose of the H-1B program is to help employers who cannot find native-born American workers with a specialized skill set.
“The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States,” the government agency noted.
Around 85,000 H-1B visas are issued annually and last for 6 years of employment.
The issuance of an H-1B visa to a worker can open the door to the employee’s entire family entering the United States.
Children and spouses of H-1B workers are eligible for H-4 visas, allowing them to follow an H-1B employee stateside. Dependent spouses on H-4 visas can apply with USCIS for employment in the U.S., and, if approved, they too can work in Texas.
Many social services are open to H-4 visa holders. H-4 visa children can attend public schools. In some cases, H-4 holders may also qualify for other social services, such as unemployment benefits, the law firm Reddy Neuman Brown PC’s legal blog says.
“The H-1B program allows employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent,” the USCIS website stated.
This reporting comes amid a national debate around the merits of the H-1B visa program.
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG,” President-elect Donald Trump’s adviser Vivek Ramaswamy posted on X during a Christmastime online firestorm over H-1B visas in the incoming administration. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
Critics of the program claim to have been de-badged and demonetized after criticizing Elon Musk, also an H-1B advocate, over his support of the program on his social media platform X, The Dallas Express reported.
President-elect Donald Trump, who tapped Ramaswamy and Musk to guide the incoming Department of Government Efficiency, was once an H-1B critic.
“Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration. The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay,” then-candidate Trump said during his 2016 presidential bid.
Trump promoted an interest in restricting or eliminating the visa program. “I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements. I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions,” he concluded.
During his first term as President, Trump imposed restrictions on H-1B visas in 2020. Contemporaneously, he condemened the Tennessee Valley Authority for replacing American employees with H-1B visa holders.
However, Trump’s views appear to have softened in recent days.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he told the New York Post just days before he will again take the oath of office.
American Airlines was contacted for comment in the production of the story but the company did not respond.