International students traveling to the United States in August decreased by about a fifth compared to August 2024—the largest drop in arrivals recorded after the pandemic.
Federal government data on foreign students studying in the United States does not show a comparable drop in international students.
The drop in arrivals follows several actions taken by the Trump administration, including additional vetting of applicants’ social media activity, a pause in visa appointments, appointment availability, travel bans, and deportation orders for foreign students who overstay or violate their visas.
To prepare for the next semester, international students studying in the United States generally arrive by August. More than 1.2 million international students study at U.S. universities….