WASHINGTON — U.S. universities are seeing a noticeable drop in new students from India. A fresh report from the State Department‑funded “Open Doors” study, released Monday, says graduate enrollment from India fell 10% in the 2024‑25 academic year. Even steeper is the 17% decline in all international students expected for the fall of 2025.
The “Open Doors” report gathered data from 825 U.S. colleges and universities. Over 61% of schools reported fewer Indian students in the fall of 2025, while more than half of the institutions saw a shrink in overall international enrollment. Nearly all of the schools (about 96%) point to visa‑application problems as the main reason, followed closely by new travel restrictions.
Despite the fall, India remains the biggest source of foreign students in the United States. The country still supplies nearly half of all U.S. graduate students and about a third of the total international student body—an overall increase of 10% for the 2024‑25 year. However, graduate programs as a whole dropped 10% over the same period.
The uptick in visa hurdles comes amid a wave of new policies under the Trump administration. The Department of Labor has opened more than 170 investigations into alleged abuses of the H‑1B visa pathway—an important post‑study work option for many foreign graduates. The White House has also introduced a $100,000 fee for new H‑1B applications, arguing it will curb abuses and keep American workers on a level playing field.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told reporters that the fee is a “significant first step to stop abuses of the system” and to prevent American workers from being replaced by lower‑paid foreign labor. The policy has stirred debate. Conservative lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called for a sharp curtailment of the H‑1B program, or even its elimination, arguing that it affects American jobs and the housing market. Greene recently posted on X that a ban on H‑1B visas would free up more jobs and homes for U.S. citizens.
The State Department has already revoked at least 6,000 international student visas since January, further tightening the flow of foreign talent. International students represent roughly 6% of the U.S. higher‑education population and inject nearly $55 billion into the American economy, supporting more than 355,000 jobs nationwide, according to the Department of Commerce.
U.S. universities and lawmakers continue to navigate these changing rules while trying to maintain the diversity and vibrancy that international students bring to American campuses and communities.
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