The administration cites jobs, nationwide safety in proposing stricter limits on how lengthy these with visas can keep.
By Jonathan Shorman for Stateline
Earlier than Abhinav Kochar traveled from India to the USA to check laptop science in late 2023, a consular official interviewed him on the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. It’s in a scene repeated numerous instances around the globe annually as overseas college students search entry to American larger training.
The high-stakes assembly lasted lower than 5 minutes. Kochar, who’s fascinated by machine studying and synthetic intelligence, mentioned why he wished to check in the USA. He was granted a pupil visa, however mentioned a buddy of his was twice rejected.
“The interview process in front of me was pretty brutal,” mentioned Kochar, now a 23-year-old who expects to graduate from the College of Missouri-Kansas Metropolis in December with a grasp’s diploma in laptop science.
Now, coming to the USA to check has develop into tougher. President Donald Trump is again in workplace and taking a tougher line on worldwide college students, arguing that they’re taking college spots or jobs from American college students, although some analysis exhibits worldwide college students assist subsidize home college students. The Trump administration has additionally cited safety issues for its extra restrictive method.
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The continued adjustments maintain main implications throughout U.S. larger training, together with taxpayer-funded public faculties and universities. Some state universities enroll massive numbers of worldwide college students, who typically pay full tuition, boosting colleges’ backside traces. These flagship establishments have lengthy been the envy of the world, attracting generations of overseas college students and serving to to form attitudes towards the USA overseas.
Stateline requested for worldwide enrollment knowledge from each public college within the Massive 12 Convention — 13 colleges unfold throughout the nation, many with main analysis packages prone to appeal to worldwide college students. Six offered some degree of data or directed Stateline to publicly out there knowledge.
4 of the six colleges — Arizona State College, the College of Arizona, Kansas State College, the College of Kansas — reported a decline in worldwide college students. The opposite colleges, the College of Utah and West Virginia College, skilled will increase in general worldwide enrollment.
What attracts many worldwide college students are the non permanent jobs they could get in the USA after commencement. Whereas American levels may be prestigious, employment expertise is what typically really provides them an edge after they return residence.
However a Trump administration official has floated eliminating a coverage that enables latest overseas graduates to work in the USA. Non-obligatory Sensible Coaching, or OPT, permits graduates to remain for a 12 months. Some college students in science, engineering and associated fields can keep for as much as three years.
The Division of Homeland Safety has additionally proposed a rule that will place a default four-year restrict on worldwide college students’ time in the USA. The plan poses a serious impediment for Ph.D. college students, whose research can typically stretch half a decade or extra. At present, college students can usually stay so long as they progress towards their diploma, a coverage generally known as period of standing.
The Trump administration has additionally approached some universities with a proposed compact that reportedly calls on colleges to restrict the proportion of their pupil inhabitants from exterior the USA. The compact might function a mannequin for different colleges throughout the nation.
And the State Division is now making use of higher scrutiny to potential college students’ social media, after pausing pupil visa interviews for a number of weeks in late spring.
“We need to think about the fact that this is the first year of the Trump administration. This is the first year we are seeing these changes, and we know that there are more changes coming up,” mentioned Zuzana Wootson, deputy director of federal coverage on the Presidents’ Alliance on Increased Training and Immigration, a gaggle that advocates on behalf of a whole lot of faculty presidents and chancellors.
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Most Individuals assist U.S. faculties and universities accepting worldwide college students, based on a September survey by the Pew Analysis Middle. Ninety-three p.c of Democrats or Democratic-leaning respondents and 66% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents mentioned it’s good for colleges to take worldwide college students.
However half of all respondents indicated assist for limiting the variety of Chinese language college students, and about 40% supported limits on college students from India, Nigeria and South Korea.
A large minority of Individuals additionally overestimate what number of worldwide college students are within the nation. Within the survey, 43% of respondents mentioned worldwide college students make up 10% or extra of all school college students in the USA; in actuality, worldwide college students account for about 6% of all U.S. school college students, although the proportion has grown over time, and particularly over the previous 20 years.
Kochar isn’t but positive what, if something, the adjustments might imply for him. He needs to pursue a doctorate diploma on the College of Missouri-Kansas Metropolis after graduating, although the funding for the place isn’t but assured. So he’s begun wanting into Non-obligatory Follow Coaching — the work coverage for latest overseas graduates that Trump could remove.
“I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that is said but not done, in a way. So there is this thing in the back of my head which makes me worry, but then again, nothing is happening in front of me,” Kochar mentioned.
Work expertise valued
Many worldwide college students say the potential for work expertise is essential to their choice to check in the USA.
Juan Pereira, a 21-year-old finance and economics main at Kansas State College, mentioned having American work expertise can be very helpful in his residence nation of Paraguay. “Regarding experience and all, it would be very, very attractive, I’m sure, for a lot of people who are looking for new hires,” he mentioned.
Amid uncertainty over the USA’ stance towards worldwide college students, some knowledge suggests a nationwide drop in enrollment. However the scale and extent of any decline stay unclear.
The U.S. Division of Homeland Safety reported 10,370 fewer overseas college students in the USA in October 2025 in contrast with October 2024, a lower of lower than 1%. That’s far lower than a potential 15% enrollment decline projected by NAFSA earlier within the 12 months. However inaccuracies have beforehand been discovered within the Homeland Safety knowledge, which covers all overseas college students, together with these in highschool and different noncollege packages.
Individually, month-to-month knowledge revealed by the U.S. Worldwide Commerce Administration signifies fewer individuals holding pupil visas entered the USA forward of the autumn semester. In August 2025, pupil visa arrivals had been 19.1% decrease than in August 2024 (the info doesn’t embody entries from Canada or Mexico by way of land). The decline was most pronounced amongst African international locations, with pupil visa entries from the continent collectively down 32.5%.
Consultants in worldwide enrollment cautioned that whereas the lower could recommend a decline, it might additionally point out many present college students determined to not journey residence this summer season, probably as a result of they feared their potential to reenter the USA.
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Asmita Mahara, a 27-year-old from Nepal who’s a first-year Ph.D. pupil in organic and agricultural engineering at Kansas State College, mentioned she known as off a go to residence this summer season due to what she known as the “ongoing situation right now.” She additionally opted in opposition to touring to a convention in Canada associated to her subject.
The summer season would have been a really perfect time to go to Nepal, Mahara mentioned. “But since I missed this opportunity, I don’t think I will be able to go there before my graduation.”
Worldwide enrollment in the USA has risen steadily from 1% of all college students through the 1949-1950 educational 12 months to almost 6% in 2023-2024, based on an evaluation of enrollment knowledge by the Migration Coverage Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan group that conducts immigration analysis. The biggest development has occurred previously 20 years.
Throughout the 2023-2024 educational 12 months, Arizona State College had the fourth-largest worldwide enrollment in larger training (and the best amongst public colleges), with 18,430 college students, based on Open Doorways, a State Division-sponsored knowledge supply. Final fall, the college dipped to fifteen,104 worldwide college students. This semester, the quantity dropped to 14,600, a 3% decline.
On its web site, Arizona State attributed the lower primarily to college students’ issue acquiring visa appointments in time for the autumn 2025 semester. It additionally emphasised the three% decline wasn’t last, as college students be part of the college all year long.
At Kansas State College, 26 fewer worldwide college students are enrolled than a 12 months in the past, a lower of roughly 3%. However general, the college has about 200 fewer worldwide college students than it did 5 years in the past, through the fall 2020 semester on the top of the pandemic — leaving the impact of the Trump administration’s latest strikes unclear.
On the College of Utah, general worldwide enrollment climbed by lower than 1%, a consequence pushed by a 9.1% improve in worldwide undergraduate college students. That helped offset a virtually equally massive drop in worldwide graduate college students.
Randy McCrillis, the senior worldwide officer on the College of Utah, mentioned he had traveled to India in August as a part of an American delegation to recruit college students. “When I was there, most of the folks we were talking to were like, ‘Look, I’m just not even going to apply to the U.S.,’” McCrillis mentioned.
Reversal from rhetoric
The Trump administration has mentioned the adjustments associated to worldwide college students are essential to guard the nation’s safety and American job seekers, and to fight abuse of the visa course of. When Homeland Safety unveiled its proposal in August to finish period of standing, the division mentioned previous administrations had allowed worldwide college students and different visa holders to remain nearly indefinitely.
Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers, or USCIS, indicated throughout his Senate affirmation listening to that he needs the company to have the authority to finish Non-obligatory Sensible Coaching. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, in September known as on Homeland Safety to limit work authorizations for worldwide college students.
“Competition from foreign graduates is contributing to rising unemployment rates among college-educated Americans,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Secretary Kristi Noem.
The narrowing posture from the Trump administration and its allies marks a reversal from Trump’s marketing campaign rhetoric. Earlier than the 2024 election, Trump mentioned worldwide college students ought to “automatically” obtain inexperienced playing cards with their diploma after they graduate.
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On “The All-In Podcast” in June 2024, Trump outlined an expansive view of which college students ought to be allowed to stay in the USA completely. Graduates of two- and four-year faculties, together with those that earn doctorate levels, “should be able to stay in this country,” he mentioned.
“You have to be able to recruit these people and keep the people,” Trump mentioned.
The Division of Homeland Safety, which oversees USCIS, and the White Home didn’t reply to Stateline’s questions.
Advantages to varsities, economic system
Supporters of robust worldwide enrollment level to in depth analysis displaying overseas college students are a boon to the universities and universities. Additionally they concern a big, sustained drop in worldwide college students would ship a blow to the American economic system.
Researchers who studied worldwide enrollment at public analysis universities between 1996 and 2012 have beforehand discovered that each 10% discount in state funding was related to a 12% improve in worldwide enrollment. In different phrases, universities relied on worldwide college students to melt the monetary blow of dropping taxpayer {dollars}.
And in October, an educational paper estimated {that a} one-third drop in worldwide college students in STEM — Science, Expertise, Engineering, Math — coming into the U.S. workforce would trigger a 6-11% drop within the general STEM workforce.
“The idea that more STEM students in America mean fewer STEM jobs for Americans is something where we don’t need off-the-cuff takes from politicians,” mentioned Michael Clemens, an economics professor at George Mason College who research the consequences of migration and co-authored the October paper.
Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, which governs the state’s six public universities and coordinates its neighborhood faculties, mentioned issues he hears about worldwide college students displacing American college students signify a story most frequently related to elite larger training establishments.
“Certainly, it’s not in alignment with what we have here in Kansas with our state universities or community colleges,” Flanders mentioned throughout an interview. He added a short while later that Kansas’ state universities have the capability to take extra college students.
“International students are a big value-add to the educational experience for Kansans.”
