The Trump administration said Thursday that it is investigating nine universities for alleged fraud related to J-1 visas, the main class of visa used by international postdoctoral researchers. Vice President JD Vance said 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.
The announcement reaches beyond immigration administration into the staffing model of U.S. biomedical research. Postdocs are a core part of that workforce, and the inquiry targets a visa category widely used in science, engineering, and health research.
Vance said the schools are using J-1 visas to undercut the wages of American graduate students and researchers. During the press briefing, he asserted that the universities employ researchers on J-1 visas for work connected to federal grants at a rate of 61% compared with a national average of 38%. STAT said it contacted the White House and the Vice President’s office for clarification on where those figures came from but did not receive immediate replies.
National Science Foundation data cited by STAT show that nearly 60% of postdocs in science, engineering, and health are temporary visa holders, and that most of these researchers would be on J-1 visas. That contrast matters because it suggests the administration is scrutinizing a practice that is deeply embedded in the current research system, not a marginal staffing tool.
What the investigation includes
The labor department’s inspector general, Anthony D’Esposito, said his office has already issued subpoenas to the universities under scrutiny. He said the investigation will examine whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships, or visa abuse are compromising federally funded research.
MIT confirmed to STAT that it received what spokesperson Kimberly Allen called a “very broad subpoena” on Thursday morning and is reviewing it. Allen said each J-1 visa holder at MIT has been vetted and authorized to come by the U.S. government and that the university takes seriously its obligations to follow U.S. law.
Stanford spokesperson Angie Davis told STAT that the university complies with all applicable visa laws, including those relating to J-1 visas, and will cooperate with the investigation. Yale’s Ozan Say said the university will review the documents related to the investigation and is committed to full compliance with federal rules concerning visas, including the requirements for J-1 visas. A Harvard spokesperson confirmed that the university has received a subpoena and is reviewing it.
STAT reported that it remains unclear how much evidence the administration has to support its visa fraud concerns, and that D’Esposito’s office did not immediately respond to questions about the scope or expected timeline.
The broader policy push
The investigation arrives alongside other efforts to restrict or make costlier the entry of international students and scholars. The Department of Homeland Security has tried to place a four-year cap on how long foreign graduate students and postdocs can stay in the country, arguing that the current system allows them to remain indefinitely and incentivizes fraud. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a proposed $70,000 fee for a work authorization program used by international students seeking professional experience. DHS is also trying to revive plans for a $100,000 fee for H1-B visas, which are used by foreign workers in high-skill fields such as engineering and biotech.
Those proposed restrictions have not yet taken effect and in some cases have been temporarily blocked by lawsuits. Even so, the immediate market signal is not just legal risk for the universities involved. It is a warning that the U.S. research labor pool could become harder to access, more expensive to maintain, and less attractive to international scientists well before any final policy changes take effect.
