Rates of international student enrollment at American colleges and universities fell this year, largely due to stricter visa application rules.
New international student enrollment declined by 17% in the fall of 2025, marking the second consecutive year of decreasing enrollment.
The latest figures represent the largest decrease in the past 11 years outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data was released on Monday by the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit organization that promotes foreign study. The reduction comes amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, including on visa issuance for international students.
Over half of the 825 American higher education institutions surveyed in this year’s Open Doors report from the IIE reported a drop in new international enrollment.
“The U.S. is no longer the central place that students aspire to come to,” said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit group, per NBC. Aw says the decline is the result of the increasing difficulty international students have had obtaining a U.S. visa.
The vast majority (96%) of higher education institutions cited visa application concerns as a hurdle for enrollment.
While the Trump administration paused new student visa interviews in May, driving a backlog in applications, issues actually preceded President Donald Trump’s taking office. The latest drop follows a 7% dip recorded in the 2025-25 academic year, a result of high visa denial rates from countries like India.
A NAFSA report also published this week states that the drop in international students has cost the economy an estimated $1.1 billion. According to NAFSA, international students contributed nearly $43 billion to the U.S. economy during the last academic year and supported over 355,000 jobs.
However, the high rate of international students comes at a cost to American students competing for slots in their desired programs.
Schools are incentivized to encourage foreign enrolment, since it usually means more revenue. Clay Harmon, the executive director at the Association of International Enrollment Management, a group that helps colleges recruit international students, says enrolling one international student can have at least three times the financial effect of enrolling an in-state student.
