WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has launched an investigation into nine prominent universities over suspected visa fraud, alleging that the institutions may have gained financially by admitting and hiring foreign nationals in violation of federal rules.
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University, and MIT are being scrutinized by federal authorities. 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 employment obligations to American workers.
“Something weird is going on at these universities,” Vance said, arguing that the institutions have relied on the visa program too heavily. He accused them of using it to drive down wages for American graduate students and researchers, adding that the practice “simply has to stop.”
As part of the inquiry, the Labor Department is creating a specialized visa fraud task force. Federal investigators have already issued subpoenas to the universities involved.
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Anthony D’Esposito, a Labor Department watchdog, said the investigation would not spare schools because of their prestige or wealth. “Nobody will be getting a free pass because their name is carved into an expensive building,” he said, citing figures showing that international students account for 61% of postgraduate enrollment at US universities.
D’Esposito also said American taxpayers provide universities with billions of dollars for research and innovation, making it important for the public to understand where that money is going and whether it is being spent legally.
