Vance: Pitt Under Investigation For Possible Fraud

PITTSBURGH, PA — The University of Pittsburgh is one of nine universities being probed for potential fraud with a visa program that permits international students to work and study in the United States.

The investigation was announced Thursday by Vice President JD Vance and other federal officials at a news conference in Washington, D.C.

Other universities being probed are Harvard; Yale; Stanford; Brown; the University of California, Davis; the California Institute of Technology; Arizona State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Vance said the Trump administration believes that these institutions take advantage of the J-1 visa program, which allows foreign students to work and conduct research in the United States. The government is probing whether the universities used the program to import less expensive students from other nations to avoid paying US citizens at a higher rate.

The vice president contended that 61 percent of researchers working on federally funded grant projects at the nine universities are J-1 visa holders, compared to the national average of 38 percent.

"Something weird is going on at these universities,” said Vance. “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.”

Pitt officials did not immediately respond to Vance's remarks.

Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito said the nine universities have been served subpoenas and inquires are underway.

“I don’t care how prestigious a university thinks it is,” he said. “Break the law and screw the American people, and I will personally cuff you in the university square. I don’t care how large your endowment is, how powerful your alumni are or how many politicians you have on speed dial.”