Following President Donald Trump’s crackdown on H-1B workers in the United States, many visa holders have begun leaving North Texas, contributing to lower home prices across the region.
Beginning around 2018, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex experienced an influx of H-1B visa workers as major technology companies expanded operation in North Texas, attracting more foreign workers to suburban communities.
From 2020 through 2024, the federal government approved nearly 32,000 new H-1B applications in the Dallas area, outpacing other regions like Silicon Valley, Seattle, and San Francisco.
Many workers who settled in suburbs, including Prosper, Frisco, and Celina were Indian-born. In Collin County, the Indian-born population averaged more than 116,000 residents annually from 2019 through 2024.
During this period, homebuilders increasingly tailored homes to Indian buyers, including floor plans featuring north-facing “puja” rooms used for Hindu prayer rituals.
Last year, Trump issued a presidential proclamation establishing a $100,000 application fee for certain visa applicants, ending the random selection lottery system, and barring nonpermanent residents from accessing Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages to purchase homes.
Gov. Greg Abbott also ordered state agencies and public universities to freeze new H-1B applications following reports of H-1B fraud and an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Meanwhile, technology companies have laid off thousands of workers. From January through March 2026, approximately 52,000 technology-sector jobs were eliminated. By early summer, tech layoffs had surpassed 123,000.
Since the federal and state crackdowns on H-1B visas, home prices in Collin County have fallen nearly 9% year over year as of February 2026. There also appears to have been a decline in Indian buyers participating in the housing market.
Across the broader Dallas-Fort Worth area, home prices have declined by an average of about 4%.
