In a news briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance announced that nine US universities are under investigation for alleged Visa fraud, including Caltech, Stanford and UC Davis. The Trump administration is investigating these universities for their use of J-1 visas, a type of temporary, non-immigrant, work and cultural exchange visa often utilized by post-doctoral researchers and visiting scholars. The J-1 visas are especially appealing for those entering research positions because — unlike the highly competitive H1-B visa — they have no annual cap, are typically processed in fewer than 8 weeks, allow many researchers to stay for up to five years, and allow applicants to bring their spouses through a J-2 status.
Vance said, “Something weird is going on at these universities. They’re using these visas way too much. They’re using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers. And it simply has to stop.”
US Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said that 61% of post-doctoral researchers and federally funded workers at the nine schools under investigation are foreign nationals, compared to the national average of 38%. D’Esposito argued that the J-1 visas are being used to cut costs for employers, as nonresident alien J-1 visa holders are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare taxes. D’Esposito also insinuated that the J-1 visas may be allowing foreign surveillance of American research. “If an American university is breaking the law to save a dollar while exposing American research to a foreign adversary, that is not academic excellence, it’s institutional betrayal,” D’Esposito said. “I don’t care how prestigious a university thinks it is. Break the law and screw the American people, and I will personally cuff you in the university square.”
In addition to the three California schools, the administration alleged that Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT, Arizona State and the University of Pittsburgh were committing Visa fraud. Brian Clark, a spokesperson for Brown, said in a statement that, “Brown’s international scholars, students and employees make essential contributions to our campus. We have received a subpoena from the government for various records pertaining to foreign labour programmes administered by the US government, and we will respond promptly and directly to the government.”
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