The number of international students arrivals in the United States has been slipping drastically over the past few months. Amid an already slippery slope under the Donald Trump administration, August 2025 witnessed an all-time low slump after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Compared to where these figures stood last year, the number of foreign students coming to the country fell by 19%, according to the US Trade.gov data cited by the New York Times.
Although the August 2025 data is preliminary and excludes visitors coming from Mexico via land and visitors from Canada, it takes into account the new international student arrivals in the US along with the existing foreign students returning to the country.
International students arrivals in US – Decline in Indian students
With 70% of students arriving from Asia, making for the largest group of visitors, the continent brought in a significantly lower number of students to the US in August. With Asian students arrivals falling by 24% that month, those coming from India fell by an additional 44% amid a continuing slump.
As per the report, nearly one in three international students in the country are Indian. Meanwhile, about one in five are from China.
On the other hand, Chinese arrivals in the US in August fell by 12%, figures of those coming from South Korea slipped by 11%, compared to yesteryear numbers.
Other international student arrivals in US
While on one hand, declines were also registered from Africa, the Middle East and South America. On the other, those arriving from Europe remained relatively the same, making for about 16% of international students arrivals in August 2025. The meagre drop accounted for just 2% from yesteryear numbers.
The United Kingdom even witnessed a positive uptick in the numbers with a 7% rise in foreign student arrivals in August. On the flip side, Russia contributed to the biggest drop (-25.8%) in European student arrivals.
Factors fuelling the foreign student slump
August arrival data is especially crucial given its direct link to numbers associated with enrollment for the US fall semester. However, the currently declining slope aligns with the Trump administration’s repeated threats about deporting foreign students over pro-Palestinian activism.
Enhanced vetting of F-1 visa applicants, including even more severe social media guidelines, and delayed visa processes have equally hindered these numbers. Additionally, the Trump admin announced a heightened travel ban targeting 19 countries in June.