The United States’ attraction as a favored study abroad destination appears to be diminishing. For the full academic year 2024-2025, Indian students maintained their supremacy in US colleges, but recent 2025 data for Fall season admissions show a declining trend of Indian students moving to the US for studies.
“The US is not losing Indian students because of weaker demand; it’s losing them because the system isn’t keeping pace with how students make decisions. In 2023, over half (54%) of our students headed to the U.S. This fall, that number crashed to just 20%,” says Jainesh Sinha, Co-founder & COO, GyanDhan, an end-to-end education enabler.
Visa Delays
The drop in international students traveling to the United States is most likely due to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which include suspending visa interviews, revoking visas, and threatening to end Optional Practical Training.
“The decrease of Indian students, in fact, all international student enrolments have a direct correlation to the visa pause earlier this year, multiple visa changes, social media vetting, policy changes and post-study work uncertainties, Trump’s dispute with top universities like Harvard and more,” says Sinha.
Rising Trend
Study abroad consultants are seeing a rising trend among students from non-metros. “It is no longer only the metros filling the international classrooms. Our student data shows a clear rise in applicants from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, a trend we have tracked consistently over the past two years.
Students from places such as Indore, Bhubaneswar, Punjab, Surat, Coimbatore, Mysuru, Nagpur and across parts of Northeast India are now applying in far greater numbers than before.
Many come from families of teachers, small business owners and mid-career professionals, and their share of US-bound applications is growing faster than that of the major metros,” says Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Business Officer at Prodigy Finance.
“Despite rising interest in other destinations, the academic draw of the US remains unchanged. States such as California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Illinois continue to be some of the most picked destinations by Indian students,” adds Sonal.
The study abroad consultants still see a ray of hope amidst all the development in the changing immigration rules.
“Recent changes in H-1B visa policies and evolving U.S. study rules are likely to create short-term uncertainty, but these are momentary ripples in a much larger, irreversible global trend,” says Mayank Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder of BorderPlus.
Indian Students in US
A study conducted by the Association of Foreign Educators, NAFSA, and JB International indicates a 17% decline in new foreign student enrollment for the Fall 2025 session, which began classes in late August or early September.
For India, the top sender of international students whose numbers soared post-pandemic, the majority of institutions now report new enrollment declines, with only 39% of institutions noting increased or stable numbers.
These declines in new enrollment from India are likely driving the overall national decline in new enrollment, according to the report. According to US official data, compared to July 2024, the number of international students from India arriving in July 2025 decreased from 24,298 to 13,027, a fall of 46.4%.
In 2024–2025, according to the Open Doors 2025 Report, the number of new international students enrolling at a U.S. college or university for the first time decreased by 7% to 277,118.
However, India remained the leading place of origin with 363,019 international students in the United States in 2024/2025, reflecting a 9.5% increase from the prior year.
“The single, most important metric for students is ROI. The speed of visa issuance, clarity of post-study-work pathways, alignment of curriculum with market needs, and the openness of the host country make or break decisions.
Data from employment-trend research shows international STEM students are more career-driven than ever, and their mobility decisions hinge on tangible work opportunities, not simply brand names,” says Sinha.
The writing on the wall is clear. The Trump administration’s stricter enforcement of immigration laws aims to reduce the inflow of foreign students in the US. Recently, White House shared the data showing a fall in the number of international students in a celebratory tone. What is alarming is that this translates into over $1.1 billion of lost revenue and nearly 23,000 fewer jobs in the US.