International enrollment in the U.S. continues its downward trend due in part to federal policy, while universities across Asia, the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe slowly begin to attract more students.
Data released last week from the annual Open Doors report by the Institute for International Education revealed that total new international student enrollment this fall decreased by 17% over last year.
Total enrollment decreased by only 1%. However, the data accounts for international students enrolled in optional practical training, which grants them up to one year of employment in the U.S. after graduation.
Without accounting for students enrolled in this program, total enrollment is down by 7%, according to the NAFSA, an association for international educators.
Restrictive government policy may be playing a significant role in declining international numbers. Almost every college (96%) participating in the Open Doors report dealt with potential students’ concerns about visas and travel restrictions.
Another report, the “Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey” released this week by NAFSA, Studyportals and Oxford Test of English, found that 85% of U.S. universities described obtaining visas as a major problem for international students. That figure was reported by only 58% of schools the year prior.
“Consular delays, social-media scrutiny, visa pulls by the thousands; none of that says ‘Come study here,'” Dave Saben, CEO of Via, a travel management software for higher education, said in an email. “My analysts keep flagging the same thing: hoops, more hoops, then another one.”
Shifting immigration policies had already begun to squeeze international enrollment at U.S. institutions before the Trump administration. New international enrollment decreased by 7.2% from fall 2023 to fall 2024, per Open Doors.
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However, recent visa restrictions and social media monitoring may be accelerating the trend, says John McLaughlin, dean of admission at Hamilton College in New York.
“There’s been speculation that some of the moves by the current administration would have a chilling effect on international students, seeing that the United States has long attracted the world’s best and brightest.”
Enrollment from India, which surpassed China for producing the most international students in the U.S., fell this fall. Enrollment from China, which has decreased over the past three years due to strained U.S. relations, continues to decline.
International students contributed $43 billion to the U.S. economy last academic year, according to a study conducted by NAFSA. Recent enrollment declines are projected to cost the economy $1.1 billion and 23,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, international educators across the U.K., Europe and Asia have reported increases in international enrollment numbers in undergraduate and graduate programs, according to NAFSA’s benchmark survey. Competition may only intensify as 40% of schools worldwide report looking for students in new markets.
“The United States benefits enormously—economically, socially and intellectually—from international students, and our policies must reflect that reality,” said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA.
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Enrollment trends are likely impacting different types of institutions in different ways, McLaughlin says. International enrollment has remained stable at Hamilton College, a baccalaureate institution focused on traditionally aged undergraduates.
On the other hand, research universities with an emphasis on postgraduate programs have been hit the hardest, particularly in STEM fields. New international graduate enrollment in fall 2025 fell by 12% from fall 2024, a semester in which year-over-year enrollment also fell by 14.5%, according to Open Doors.
Moreover, preliminary fall enrollment numbers from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center indicate a 15% decline in graduate programs in computer science, which have traditionally generated strong student interest and enrollment.
“We do know that many international students are in that field, so it is possible when we see final numbers that we see connections there,” Matthew Holsapple, senior director of research at the Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a media briefing.
