This story has been updated to include a statistic on University of Pittsburgh's international employees, scholars and students.
University of Pittsburgh is among nine higher education institutions under federal investigation for alleged visa fraud, according to Vice President J.D. Vance.
The schools, he said, have been overusing America's J-1 visa program, opting to hire workers from other countries and paying them lower wages than they would provide domestic workers.
"Something weird is going on at these universities," Vance said during a recent 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."
JD Vance says University of Pittsburgh among schools under investigation for visa fraud
During an Oct. 8 news
conference, Vance accused multiple universities of committing visa fraud and called on Congress to reform the J-1 visa program.
Multiple universities, including University of Pittsburgh, were using J-1 visas for federally funded grants at a rate of about 61%, while the national average is about 38%, Vance said.
Vance called the alleged overuse of visas a "fundamental insult to the American worker and to the American way of life," saying that schools were misusing them to undercut the wages of American workers rather than using them to find the "best and the brightest."
"It's one thing if you want to bring in a person like Elon Musk," Vance said. "I think 99% of American citizens look at somebody like Elon Musk or Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, and they say, 'Obviously, if that person wants to come in and build something great in the United States of America, we support that.' But if you're bringing in an accountant who's making $40,000 a year, and you use that for an indentured servant making $40,000 a year to replace an American worker who was making $70,000 a year, you're not bringing in a genius to build a great American corporation, you're committing fraud against the American people and against this visa program."
University of Pittsburgh reviewing federal subpoena over J-1 visas
Subpoenas have been served to schools for alleged visa fraud, including the University of Pittsburgh, Vance said.
A spokesperson for University of Pittsburgh said administrators are reviewing the subpoena, TribLIVE reported.
"The university participates in federal visa programs, including the J-1 program, in accordance with all applicable federal requirements," said Jared Stonesifer, a university spokesperson.
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, who represents the northwestern part of Allegheny County and all of Beaver County, called the allegations from Vance "a bunch of nonsense."
"Your life isn’t a rip off because Pitt is a world-leading research institution that attracts the best and brightest," he said in a post to his personal X account. "Your life is a rip off because the President and Vice President bumbled into a failed war with Iran, start reckless trade wars, and enrich their corrupt and powerful friends at our expense. Hail to Pitt!"
What schools are under investigation for potential J-1 visa fraud?
Vance said the following universities were committing fraud with by overusing J-1 visas:
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- Stanford University
- Brown University
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of California, Davis
- California Institute of Technology
- Arizona State University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
How many international students attend University of Pittsburgh?
There were a total of 5,253 international employees, scholars and students on campus from 127 countries in 2024-2025, according to an annual report from the university. The year prior, in 2023-24, 3,200 international students from 112 countries attended University of Pittsburgh, according to the school's website.
The university maintains the immigration records of about 4,000 F-1 students, or students who are coming to the U.S. to study full-time at a school approved by the Department of Homeland Security without immigrating.
International students, professors, research scholars and short-term scholars can come to Pitt with J-1 visas. Students who use these visas are not immigrating to the U.S., but have been admitted to a degree program at an accredited educational institution for a full course study or will participate full time in a non-degree course of study.
Most international students at Pitt use F-1 visas, according to Pitt's website.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JD Vance accuses University of Pittsburgh of committing visa fraud
