Nine US Universities Investigated over Alleged Misuse of Research and Exchange Visas

DID Press: The administration of US President Donald Trump has launched investigations into nine prominent American research universities over the alleged misuse of J-1 exchange visas, which are used by international scholars, lecturers and researchers.

The US Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General announced on October 8 that subpoenas had been issued to all nine institutions and investigations were underway. The universities are Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University, the University of Pittsburgh, Arizona State University, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Davis.

US Vice President JD Vance accused the universities of potentially using foreign researchers to reduce labor costs and undercut the wages of American graduate students and researchers. He said that foreign nationals accounted for about 61 percent of postdoctoral researchers and researchers supported by federal grants at the nine universities, compared with 38 percent at other universities, according to the Labor Department’s inspector general.

The investigations are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten oversight of immigration and employment-related visa programs, while emphasizing the protection of American workers. Officials have also raised concerns about potential foreign influence and the protection of federally funded research.

Several universities have said they comply with applicable US laws. Stanford said it would cooperate with the investigation, while representatives of Brown and MIT confirmed receiving subpoenas. Arizona State University also stated that it operates in compliance with US law.