WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has opened an investigation into nine prominent universities over allegations of visa fraud, accusing the institutions of improperly profiting from the recruitment and employment of foreign nationals.
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University and MIT are being scrutinized by federal officials. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the schools may be misusing the J-1 visa program to bring in lower-cost international students while avoiding obligations to hire American workers.
“Something unusual is happening at these universities,” Vance said. He alleged that the schools are relying on J-1 visas too heavily, using the program to drive down pay for American graduate students and researchers. “That simply has to stop,” he added.
As part of the inquiry, the Labor Department is forming a specialized visa fraud task force. Investigators have already issued subpoenas to the universities under review.
“No institution will receive special treatment simply because its name is engraved on an expensive building,” said Labor Department watchdog Anthony D’Esposito. He noted that international students account for 61% of post-graduate enrollment at US universities.
D’Esposito also argued that American taxpayers, who provide billions of dollars in funding for university research and innovation, deserve a clear accounting of how that money is spent and whether the funds are being used legally.