Universities across the United States are facing their steepest decline in new international students in years, and many campus officials say Donald Trump’s policies are largely to blame.
New data from the Open Doors report, released by the Institute of International Education, shows that the number of foreign students starting college in the U.S. fell 17 percent this fall. It follows a seven percent drop in the 2024–25 academic year, a slide driven in part by a reduction in students coming from China as geopolitical tensions hardened.
That downturn is hitting campuses at a difficult moment. President Donald Trump and his administration have spent much of the year tightening the rules around foreign student visas. A month-long pause in visa interviews over the summer, followed by stricter vetting and fewer available appointments, left many admitted students stuck in limbo. Some never received interviews at all and simply gave up. Others made it through the process too late to arrive for the semester.
For colleges that rely heavily on full-paying international students to stabilize their budgets, the timing could hardly be worse. Many institutions told researchers they are now letting students defer their enrollment to next year, hoping the political climate steadies. More than half of the schools surveyed said they intend to keep recruiting aggressively overseas. A large majority emphasized that they value what international students add to classrooms and campus life. Nearly 60 percent also acknowledged how financially important they are.
Open Doors, which is funded by the U.S. State Department, has tracked international enrollment since 1919. Even with the recent setbacks, the U.S. remains the top global destination for foreign students, drawing roughly 1.2 million students in the 2024–25 year and contributing close to $55 billion to the national economy. But the composition of that group is changing.
Trump just banned Harvard University from enrolling international students as punishment for them standing up to him.
All current international students will be forced to leave. pic.twitter.com/BqMali4gp2
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 22, 2025
India has now solidified its spot as the largest sender of students to the United States for the second year in a row. More than 363,000 Indian students enrolled last academic year, a 10 percent jump from the year before. China followed with about 266,000 students, a four percent decline. Students in STEM fields remain the biggest group, and the number of international students on Optional Practical Training—a program that allows graduates to work in their field—rose 21 percent.
One of the puzzles in the new numbers is that overall foreign enrollment is rising even as new enrollment falls. The surge in OPT, along with students staying longer in graduate and doctoral programs, has helped offset the drop in first-time arrivals.
Trump has offered mixed signals on his position because as of last week, he said allowing foreign students to study in the United States is a “good” practice, pushing back against calls to cut international enrollment. He also said he believes foreign students are “good for business” and suggested that U.S. universities rely on them to stay competitive. Those comments stand in contrast with the visa clampdowns and high-profile enforcement actions his administration has carried out over the past year.
For now, university recruiters are left trying to reassure international applicants that the United States still wants them. But with new student enrollment falling at a double-digit rate, and anxiety about tightening immigration rules, the question hanging over campuses is whether this decline is a temporary dip or a shift that is only beginning.
