The Trump administration Thursday accused Caltech and eight other universities of suspected visa fraud, alleging they were abusing a program that allows international students to come to the United States to study.
Vice President JD Vance said that the private Pasadena research university known for its engineering and science programs was exploiting the J- 1 special visa that allows international scholars and students to do research and work in the U.S.
“Something weird is going on at these universities,” Vance said at a news conference. “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.”
A message from City News Service seeking comment from Caltech was not immediately answered.
Along with Caltech, Vance singled out Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Arizona State, and MIT.
Vance said the potential abuse of the J-1 and H-1B programs constituted a “fundamental insult to the American worker.”
The Trump administration contends that 61% of post-doctoral researchers and federally funded workers at the nine schools are foreign nationals, a rate far larger than the national average of 38%.
Federal officials said a probe of the schools was underway.
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said subpoenas have been served and “Nobody will be getting a free pass because their name is carved into an expensive building.”
Vance also called out Microsoft for allegedly abusing the H-1B special visa program for foreign workers.
“There’s been no company, unfortunately, in the United States that has abused this system more than Microsoft,” Vance told reporters at the White House news conference.
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