Nine Universities Face Federal J-1 Investigation as Subpoenas Are Served
The administration said Oct. 8 it will investigate nine universities over their use of J-1 exchange-visitor visas. The schools named were Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State University and MIT. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito said subpoenas had been served and that investigators would examine J-1 compliance as well as foreign influence, financial relationships and use of federal research funds.
Administration officials argued that the schools rely heavily on J-1 researchers in federally funded work and could disadvantage U.S. graduate students and researchers. Vice President J.D. Vance cited figures of about 61% versus a 38% national average, but officials have not publicly explained how those figures were calculated. That matters: federal science data show temporary visa holders make up a large share of postdocs in science, engineering and health fields, so a high J-1 share alone does not prove a violation.
Harvard, MIT, Brown and Pitt said they had received subpoenas and were reviewing them. Stanford, Yale, UC Davis and Arizona State stressed compliance or cooperation; no public Caltech response was located at press time. This is the opening of an investigation, not a court or agency finding that any school broke the law.
For Chinese students, visiting scholars and postdocs, the immediate point is institutional: the probe targets university program management, and no announcement named individual J-1 holders as accused of wrongdoing. Readers connected to the nine schools should follow their international offices, keep DS-2019 and appointment/funding records, and rely on official notices rather than social-media rumor. (GSM summary from the Oct. 8 announcement and AP/USA Today/STAT reporting.)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：麻省理工学院大圆顶（被联邦调查的九所大学之一）。摄影：Beyond My Ken，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
