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Temporary visas for highly skilled noncitizen workers are key to Texas businesses, but they could be in short supply soon.

The federal government issues 85,000 of those visas — known as H-1Bs — annually to businesses nationwide via a random lottery, which includes 20,000 for those with advanced degrees from U.S. universities. The process was already under intense scrutiny before President Donald Trump ordered a limit on foreign workers.

Denial rates increased from 13% in 2017 to 33% through the second quarter of 2019, according to the National Foundation for American Policy.

Some Texas small-business owners say losing out on the chance to hire skilled foreign workers hurts their businesses — and that’s bad for the state’s economy. But President Donald Trump has said his immigration policies are designed to put American workers first and only give visas to foreign workers with extraordinary skills.

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Alana Rocha was the director of news partnerships for The Texas Tribune until June 2022. She was previously a multimedia reporter, after working in television and radio news for eight years. Alana covered...

Justin Dehn was a multimedia producer, focusing on video and audio production, from 2010 to 2023. He’s been shooting and producing news for more than two decades. Justin has been behind the camera for...

Todd Wiseman was the senior editor for video and multimedia at The Texas Tribune, where he worked from 2010 to 2023. Todd previously worked at the Austin School of Film and Synthetic Pictures and interned...