17% drop in enrolments of international students in US universities in 2025-26: IIE

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The fall semester began in August/September this year.

“For India, the top sender of international students whose numbers soared post-pandemic, the majority of institutions now report new enrolment declines, with only 39 per cent of institutions noting increased or stable numbers. These declines in new enrollment from India are likely driving the overall national declines in new enrollment,” the report on the fall 2025 session noted.

In IIE’s survey, institutions pointed to challenges that impacted new enrolments this year – 96 per cent of them referred to visa delays connected to long wait times. In comparison, 81 per cent of them referred to the pause in visa issuances for a few weeks in May and June, and 91 per cent reported visa denials as a factor contributing to fewer new student arrivals.

While 96 per cent of institutions cited the visa application process as a factor in the decline of new international student enrolment this year, this figure was only 64 per cent in the fall of 2021, and was at 85 per cent last year.

The fall snapshot was released along with the Open Doors 2025 report Monday, which shows that new international student enrolment in 2024-25 dropped by around 7 per cent (2,77,118 in 2024-25 vs 2,98,705 in 2023-24). This is the first year that a decrease in new international student enrolment is being recorded in the post-COVID period.

The decrease was among new postgraduate students whose numbers dropped by 15 per cent compared to 2023-24 (1,50,536 in 2024-25 vs 1,76,084 in 2023-24). In contrast, the number of new undergraduate students at US institutions increased by 5 per cent.

Indian and Chinese students

In a trend that continues from last year, Indian students remained the largest international student cohort in the US in 2024-25, with around 3.63 lakh Indian students there in 2024-25, a 9.5 per cent increase from around 3.32 lakh students the previous year, Open Doors data shows. Indian students account for around 31 per cent of the total international student numbers in the US, followed by students from China (22.6 per cent).

The number of Chinese students in the US dropped 4 per cent compared to 2023-24, standing at around 2.66 lakh. Indians surpassed the Chinese to become the largest international student cohort in the US for the first time in the 2023-24 academic year.

At the undergraduate level, the number of Indian students has increased by 11.3 per cent compared to 2023-24, while there is a 9.5 per cent drop at the postgraduate level, from approximately 1.97 lakh to 1.78 lakh. The number of Indian students on optional practical training (OPT), which allows international students to secure work for a fixed time period, surged by 47 per cent in 2024-25 (1.44 lakh compared to 97,556 in 2023-24).

Among Indian students in the US, close to 40 per cent were on OPT in 2024-25, up from around 29 per cent in 2023-24. The fall snapshot attributed the growth in OPT numbers to strong growth in the number of graduate students for three years.

Texas, New York, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois are the top ‘receiving states’ for Indian students.

From the 2023 fiscal year (October 2022-September 2023) to the 2024 fiscal year (October 2023-September 2024), the number of ‘F’ category visas – most students in the US are on an F visa – issued to Indian students dropped by 33.2 per cent, data from the report shows. Among countries, this is the most significant drop in ‘F’ category visas issued after Iran, which saw a 41 per cent decrease over the same period.

As has been the case in recent years, math and computer science are the most popular fields of study among Indian students in the US, with 43.4 per cent of Indian students being in this field, followed by 22.8 per cent in engineering.

The total number of international students in the US saw a 5 per cent increase in 2024-25 compared to the previous year, recording a figure of 11,77,766.

The US Department of State sponsors IIE’s Open Doors.

New Bill

The Donald Trump administration has been tumultuous for international students so far. It has revoked visas of students linked to pro-Palestine protests and those involved in law enforcement-related proceedings, in addition to halting the scheduling of interviews for student visas for a few weeks earlier this year to initiate social media vetting of applicants.

Universities are also dealing with slashes in federal funds.

Earlier this year, a Bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives to end the OPT programme, with a section of Trump supporters claiming that it favours international students for jobs, and takes employment away from Americans.

The Fall 2025 Snapshot report noted that US institutions participating in the survey highlighted the “benefits of OPT to the United States.”

“More than three-quarters of institutions (76 per cent) emphasize the role of OPT in both attracting international students to study in the United States and the resulting economic benefits to U.S. businesses. Institutions also note that OPT enables companies to recruit and retain international student talent, which 70 per cent cite as an additional advantage,” the report noted.

“Notably, 92 per cent of U.S. institutions report that if OPT were not available, international students would likely look to other destinations for their education abroad experience. Institutions cite that this work experience is highly attractive to international students and serves as a valuable complement to their academic studies,” it added.