The Other Immigration Visa Problem

As Governor Greg Abbott looks to crack down on H-1B visa's for Texas public school employees, there is another visa that has also become a problem.

It's the J-1 visa, which has gone from a means of foreign and cultural exchange, to becoming a cheap labor program.

"Like so many other temporary visa programs, this one has morphed into just another cheap labor program" said Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

About 75 percent of the 275,000 J-1 visas issued in 2025 went to workers, while only about 25 percent went to more traditional exchange programs.

"This is bringing in more than 200,000 people working in jobs that otherwise would be available for Americans to take, particularly teenagers" Vaughan told KTRH.

Taking jobs away at critical time. Summer Work Travel alone accounted for 105,000 visas, making it the largest J-1 category. Another 32,000 went to foreign camp counselors.

"They're offering these opportunities to foreigners, and these exchange workers who come supposedly for the summer, have the highest rate of overstays of any temporary visa category" noted Vaughan, "So it's also contributing to illegal immigration."

She says there is a lot that the State Department can do to address it, including stronger penalties for sponsors, and greater scrutiny of countries with high overstay rates.