A new report found the number of newly enrolled international students at United States colleges dropped by 17% in autumn for the 2025/26 academic year.
This trend follows new restrictions on student visas and other Trump administration policies, according to the report by the Institute of International Education.
This includes the Trump administration instituting several policies aimed at international students, including efforts to cap their enrollment at U.S. universities.
This also comes after the Trump administration blocked international students from enrolling at Harvard earlier this year while also freezing their funds, causing the university to file a lawsuit against the White House.
This also follows the U.S. State Department authorising consular officers to ask visa applicants to make their social media public in an effort to identify who may be hostile towards the U.S. Some students have been revoked, and others seeking new visas have faced delays.
The survey also found there was a 1% overall decline in international students when taking into account students who have been in the U.S. for years.
During the 2024/25 academic year, international students accounted for 6% of the total U.S. higher education population and contributed nearly US$55 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
For the autumn 2025 semester, while international undergraduate enrolments were up by 2%, graduate enrolments were down 12%.
Among the surveyed schools citing international student declines, 96% said visa application concerns were a factor, and 68% cited travel restrictions.
