 "People enter and exit Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The the US has taken a decision to pause student visa interviews globally. File image/AFP")
The United States is often referred to as the ‘land of opportunity’. But under Donald Trump’s presidency, it seems that this opportunity is now being restricted — to only Americans. The Trump administration has paused student visa interviews globally and announced a new social media vetting.
This has left millions and millions of international students anxious and in limbo. Some have voiced their regret, wishing they had applied to schools outside the US. “I already regret it,” said a 22-year-old master’s student from Shanghai to BBC.
Many note that Trump’s move will disproportionately affect Chinese and Indian students the most. Here’s how.
What is the latest on foreign students in the US?
On Tuesday (May 27), the Trump administration furthered their fight with US universities with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordering US embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas as the administration weighed stricter vetting of applicants’ social-media profiles.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued … in the coming days,” the diplomatic cable reportedly said, as reported by Politico.
The move is being seen as an escalation in the battle between the White House and universities — namely the elite ones such as Harvard and Columbia.
But what does it mean by social media vetting? The US State Department will look into an applicant’s social media and flag any “objectionable” activity. However, herein lies the issue — it is not yet clear what may be considered objectionable. Neither have the parameters of the vetting (that is, what consular officers will be looking for). The above-mentioned diplomatic cable, however, says that students will be required to provide social media details from 2019, Politico reported.
On Wednesday, Trump even suggested a 15 per cent cap should be imposed on the admission of foreign students at Harvard University and other American higher education institutions. Speaking from the Oval Office, the president said he doesn’t want “radical people” coming to the United States as students and “making trouble in our country.”
“We don’t want to see shopping centres explode. We don’t want to see the kind of riots that you had, and I’ll tell you what, many of those students didn’t go anywhere, many of those students were troublemakers caused by the radical left,” Trump told reporters.
He further added that foreign students take up too much of the student body and block the way for Americans to get a better education.
How many students will be affected by Trump’s order?
The head count of international students at US colleges and universities and in related training programmes has surged in the recent years. In the academic year of 2023-24, a total of 11,26,690 students were from countries other than the US. This was a rise from the previous year — of 1,057,188.
As per a Washington Post report, not since the late 1970s has the total grown that much in one year. These students bring global perspectives to campuses and account for more than five per cent of postsecondary enrolment in the United States.
Data further shows that 71.5 per cent of international students enrolled in the US between 2023 and 2024 were from Asia. India was the top source, with 3,31,602 students from the country enrolled in US universities. Following India was China, which sent 2,77,398 students to the US. In third place is South Korea, which sent 43,149 students to the US.
Interestingly, 2023-2024 was the first year that Indian students exceeded those from China; in the previous academic year, China had sent 2,89,526 compared to 2,68,923 from India.
Other neighbours of India have also been choosing the American Dream. Nepal had more than 15,000 students at US institutions and Bangladesh more than 13,500. Both totals were up 28 per cent. Pakistan had more than 10,100, up 16 per cent.
Europe sent 90,600 students to the US, making up eight per cent of the international student population.
The data also shows that most foreign students are gravitating to certain universities such as New York University, Boston’s Northeastern University, New York’s Columbia University and Arizona State University. The 2023-2024 figures show that NYU admitted a whopping 27,247 foreign students whereas the remaining three admitted 21,023, 20,321 and 18,430 foreign scholars respectively. Harvard, in comparison, only had 7,800 foreign students last year.
What do students feel about the situation?
For international students, the Trump administration’s move has brought a lot of confusion and anxiety. Shreya Mishra Reddy, a second-year MBA student from India at Harvard Business School, told The Hindu, “It’s been really stressful — not just for me but for other international students too.
“The rules have been changing every week. There’s just something new — basically against international students.”
Another student, who didn’t want to be named, said that she was considering another country altogether. “I am now considering my options in the UK. Every day, we wake up to discover something new about US education policies. I don’t know if it’s worth the constant anxiety,” she told The Hindu.
Others especially Chinese and other Asian students also feel the heat. As one told the BBC, “Even if I study in the US, I may be chased back to China without getting my degree. That’s so scary.”
And even US educators and activists are concerned about Trump’s crackdown on foreign students and its impact on the country. It’s hard to ignore the fact that foreign students contribute significantly to the US economy — one figure reveals that these students brought in $43.8 billion to the US economy during the 2023-2024 academic year and supported more than 3,78,000 jobs.
They also leave a significant meaningful positive impact on American students’ global competence. As Fanta Aw, NAFSA executive director and CEO said in a statement, “We cannot afford to lose international students’ meaningful positive impact on American students’ global competence, our economies, and our communities, particularly in the areas of STEM-related research and innovation.”
With inputs from agencies