Trump administration investigates 9 universities for alleged visa fraud

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it is investigating nine universities for alleged fraud related to visas commonly used by postdoctoral researchers, a core part of the nation’s biomedical workforce. Vice President JD Vance announced during a press briefing that Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the California Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pittsburgh, and UC Davis are under investigation by the Department of Labor. During the briefing, Vance asserted that these schools are improperly using J-1 visas, the main class of visa used by international postdocs, to bring in cheap labor rather than relying on domestic researchers. “They’re using these visas way too much,” he said. “They’re using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers, and it simply has to stop.” Vance asserted that these schools employ researchers on J-1 visas for work connected to federal grants at a rate of 61% compared to a national average of 38%. STAT contacted the White House and the Vice President’s office for clarification on where these figures came from but did not receive immediate replies. National Science Foundation data show that nearly 60% of postdocs in science, engineering, and health are temporary visa holders; most of these researchers would be on J-1 visas. The labor department’s inspector general, Anthony D’Esposito, said during the briefing that his office has already issued subpoenas to the schools under scrutiny. He added that he will investigate whether “foreign influence, improper financial relationships, or visa abuse are compromising federally funded 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,” he 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.” Kimberly Allen, an MIT spokesperson, confirmed in an email to STAT that the university received a “very broad subpoena” on Thursday morning that it is now reviewing. She did not elaborate on the details of the subpoena or what kinds of information had been requested. “Each J-1 visa holder at MIT has been vetted and authorized to come here by the U.S. government, and we take seriously our obligations to follow U.S. law,” Allen wrote. Spokespersons for Stanford, Yale, and Harvard did not immediately reply to a request for comment. It’s unclear how much evidence the administration has to support its visa fraud concerns, and D’Esposito’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about the investigation’s scope or expected timeline. But Thursday’s announcement fits into a series of moves by the Trump administration to more tightly restrict the entry of international students and scholars into the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security has attempted to place a four-year cap on how long foreign graduate students and postdocs can stay in the country, alleging that the current system allows these scholars to remain indefinitely and incentivizes fraud. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a proposed $70,000 fee for a popular work authorization program used by international students seeking professional experience. And DHS is attempting to revive plans to institute a $100,000 fee for H1-B visas, which are used by foreign workers in high-skill fields such as engineering and biotech. These proposed restrictions have yet to take effect and have in some cases been temporarily blocked by lawsuits. But Elizabeth Goss, an immigration attorney in Boston, warned that these efforts send a clear sign to international scientists that their contributions are no longer valued, a message she worries could compromise U.S. scientific leadership. “This is an incredible series of self-owns,” she said. “The government also knows that none of this will stand up in court. They just want to send a message: Don’t come here. But we will lose [out] on so much. It’s going to take decades for us to repair the damage when this is over.” STAT’s coverage of the federal government’s impact on the biomedical workforce is supported by a grant from the Dana Foundation and the Boston Foundation. Our financial supporters are not involved in any decisions about our journalism.