The Trump administration is investigating nine universities over possible fraud involving the J-1 visa program, Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday at a news conference in Washington. The institutions named are Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California, Davis, the California Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The J-1 program allows noncitizens to come to the United States temporarily to study, conduct research or pursue graduate work. Vance said the investigations will assess whether the universities may have committed fraud, but the announcement did not identify specific suspected practices or describe evidence against any institution. The inquiries are not findings of wrongdoing. The move is the latest step in the administration’s campaign to tighten rules affecting international students and workers. The administration has proposed significantly higher fees for a popular work authorization program used by international students. It also sought to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students, but a federal court blocked that effort in 2025. The investigations could affect universities’ ability to host international students and researchers through the J-1 program, as well as people whose education or work in the United States depends on it.