Fort Worth-based American Airlines
has recorded at least 271 H-1B workers on its payroll, making it the 11th-highest employer in the state of Texas. This visa enables the airline to employ specialist foreign workers with a foreign bachelor’s degree or satisfactory work experience.
165 applications at American
According to the H-1B Salary Database, for 2024, American Airlines filed 165 applications for roles ranging from entry-level analysts to senior IT project managers.
Photo: American Airlines
The program has provided American Airlines with temporary foreign workers who can provide specialist knowledge for the carrier; however, the Department of Labor has criticized the visa as it enables companies to employ foreign workers instead of looking for local talent and developing their skills. The agency noted:
“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.”
For those fortunate enough to be granted an H-1B visa, the applicant’s entire family is allowed to reside in the United States during the visa duration. Children and spouses of H-1B workers can then apply for H-4 visas, which allow them to follow the H-1B holder stateside. Dependent spouses on the H-4 visa can then apply for employment with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
For the H-4 visa holder, this allows children to attend public schools and access other social services in some instances; this can include unemployment benefits.

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American has a long history.
Once criticized by Donald Trump
As noted by the Dallas Express, in his first term as President, Trump widely criticized the program, noting that it ‘celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ’ and looks to support short-term employment of foreign nations instead of improving local skills. Trump had historically pushed for a restriction or total elimination of the program and made statements that organizations continue to ‘abuse’ the H-1B visa.
Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock
However, today, the President-Elect seems to have softened his stance on the visa, noting that many of his employees hold the H-1B.

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History of American Airlines
American Airlines is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and is the leading operator at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). It is the largest airline in the world by passengers carried, daily flights, and revenue per passenger mile.
The airline operates an average of 6,800 flights per day across 350 destinations in 48 countries. It is also a founding member of the Oneworld alliance
, which partners with other airlines such as British Airways, Finnair, Qantas, Qatar, and Cathay Pacific.
The airline now operates from ten hubs, and while Dallas is the largest, the airline carries more than 200 million annual passengers across its network. This equates to around half a million per day. Across the world, over 103,200 employees work for the carrier, with a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. Current bases include:
- Charlotte
- Chicago–O’Hare
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York–JFK
- New York–LaGuardia
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix–Sky Harbor
- Washington–National
At the end of 2024, the carrier operated nearly 1,000 aircraft in its mainline fleet, earning the carrier the third-largest commercial airline fleet globally. The carrier operates a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, of which 80% are narrowbody aircraft from the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. The airline is proudly the largest operator of the Airbus A320 worldwide, as well as the A319 and A321 variants.
For widebody operations, nearly all of these aircraft are manufactured by Boeing, with the airline being the world’s largest Boeing 787-8 operator.

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