Arrivals from India on US student visas fell 39% in August from a year earlier, the third straight annual decline in the month that usually sees the biggest influx of foreign students ahead of the fall semester.
In that time, his administration has expanded social media screening of student visa applicants, finalised a rule, since blocked by a court, ending open-ended admission for foreign students, and proposed steep fees on their post-study work. Study-abroad consultants cite visa appointment and processing delays, stricter screening and uncertainty over post-study work among the reasons for the fall. The slide began under Joe Biden , with a 20.3% fall to 74,825 in August 2024, but has accelerated since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. August arrivals fell 44.5% in 2025 and another 39% this year, leaving them 66.2% below the 2024 level. Under State Department guidance issued on June 18, 2025, applicants for student and exchange visitor visas were required to make their social media profiles public for review.
Consultants also cited higher rejection rates, employment prospects and the rising cost of education, which together, they said, were prompting students and families to reconsider their plans. Vinu Warrier, managing partner and founder of eduVelocity Global, said US universities’ admission timelines had not been delayed. “US universities continue to follow their usual admission timelines, with no significant delays reported,” he said.
OPT lets F-1 students work in their field during or after their degree. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed on October 8 that institutions pay $70,000 per student for a first OPT period and $30,000 for each later one. A separate DHS rule, finalised on July 17, would replace Duration of Status, under which students are admitted without a fixed end date, with fixed periods of up to four years. A federal court in Massachusetts blocked it on September 14, a day before it was to take effect, and the government has appealed.
