The rate of new international students’ enrolment at US universities dropped by 17% this autumn compared to previous years, research released on Monday indicates.
The drop comes as the Trump administration has made it more difficult to obtain student visas, with the research suggesting visa application issues like delays and denials are among the top reasons for the decline in first-time students.
The survey found a modest overall 1% decline in international students when taking into account students who have been in the US for years.
Foreign students make up about 6% of total US enrollment and contributed $55bn (£41bn) to the economy, according to 2024 figures from the Commerce Department.
The survey by the Institute of International Education examined the population of international students at 828 higher education institutions.
“There are warning signs for future years, and I’m really concerned about what this portends for fall ’26 and ’27,” Clay Harmon, executive director of AIRC: The Association of International Enrollment Management, told the Associated Press.
The 17% decline in first-time students is lower than one forecast over the summer by NAFSA, a non-profit international educators group, which had estimated a potential 30%-40% drop this autumn due to visa issues.
Some 84% of universities told the Institute of International Education they consider foreign student recruitment a priority.
Many schools said they are providing flexibility to students who have faced hurdles in beginning their studies in the US, including deferrals which saw a 39% increase compared to the 2024 survey.
US institutions told the report researchers there were a number of factors driving a decline in new students, including visa issues, travel restrictions that effect about 2% of the foreign student population, and some “student concerns about feeling unwelcome in the United States”.
The White House has made a number of moves that have limited the number of foreign students, most who pay higher tuition rates, in the US.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused scheduling visa appointments for international students. In June, when those resumed, the administration announced it would screen visa applications more closely, including by asking all applicants to allow their social media accounts to be checked.
That policy came in the wake of large pro-Palestine protests on many college campuses.
Before that, the State Department revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law, including assault, driving under the influence (DUI), and “support for terrorism”.
President Donald Trump has acknowledged the importance of foreign students to the economy and as a source of income for higher education.
In September, he said he plans to issue 600,000 Chinese student visas – about double the current number – despite concern from some of his supporters over national security.
“You know, the students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries,” Trump said on Fox News last week.
“I want to see our school system thrive. And it’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business.”
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