The United States on Thursday announced that the US Department of Labor will start a crackdown on foreign students on J-1 student visas at nine top US universities as part of a country-wide crackdown on alleged visa fraud.
JD Vance announced that the Department of Labor is temporarily blocking Microsoft from applying for green cards for its foreign workers via U.S. In a fiery press conference flanked by US Vice President JD Vance, US Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito named Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, the University of Pittsburgh, UC Davis, Caltech, Arizona State, and MIT as the alleged hotspots of student visa fraud. Anthony D’Esposito, especially, came out strong on the universities over the alleged visa fraud. The biggest name on the tech companies facing the wrath of the Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown is Microsoft. “If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Infosys Ltd., Tata, Wipro Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., and Capgemini SE.
A J-1 student visa allows foreign students, researchers, and exchange visitors at universities to temporarily study or work in US. The latest available number from the US Department of State on J-1 visa holders in the country is from 2024. It states that there were 300,904 J-1 exchange visitors at US universities. D’Esposito said they formed the 60% of US universities’ strength. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) EB-2 and EB-3 programs.
Vance accused these universities of using the J-1 visa program to “undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers,” adding “it simply has to stop. “I will personally cut you in the university square,” he said. “Our message to Microsoft is: You’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers,” Vance said. Additionally, US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said that the Permanent Labor Certificates of the following companies will be suspended.
Because their name is carved into an expensive building, d’Esposito threatened foreign students on J-1 visas saying that “nobody will be getting a free pass. He added that subpoenas have already been served to these universities and probe is underway. The New York Post reports that the US Labor Department is also establishing a visa fraud strike team as part of the subpoenas served. The details of the task force are unclear. “I spent a career as a NYPD detective. I did not back down then, and I sure as hell will not back down now,” he continued. “I don’t care how prestigious a university thinks it is! “I don’t care how large your endowment is, how powerful your alumni are, or how many politicians you have on speed dial. The announcement of an investigation into the alleged visa fraud at US universities was made as part of a larger crackdown on visa fraud in the US. Separately, several top tech companies with a significant foreign workforce on H-1B visas at their US offices have also been targeted.
