Washington – The number of international student arrivals in the US dropped by nearly a fifth in August as American universities started the new academic year, according to federal data.

The dip is the latest sign of a hit to colleges' international enrolment as the Trump administration ratchets up scrutiny of foreign students.

International visitors arriving to the US on student visas declined 19 per cent in August compared with the same month in 2024, according to the preliminary data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office.

The numbers declined also in June and July but August is the summer month that typically sees the most international student arrivals - 313,138 this year.

As the federal government has clamped down on student visas, industry groups have warned of international enrolment declines that threaten school budgets and American colleges' standing in the world. While the full extent of the change remains to be seen, the new data suggests a turnaround in international enrolment that had been rebounding in the US from a decline worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around 1.1 million international students were in the United States last year - a source of key revenue for tuition-driven colleges. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, and many pay full tuition.

Visa challenges and travel bans blocked some students

Many students who had plans to study in the US could not enter the country because of difficulty lining up visas. In late May, the State Department paused the scheduling of visa interviews for foreign students, which resumed three weeks later with new rules for vetting visa applicants' social media accounts.

The timing of the pause had“maximum possible impact” for visa issuances for the fall semester, said Clay Harmon, executive director of the Association of International Enrollment Management, a nonprofit membership association.

A travel ban and other restrictions for 19 countries the Trump administration announced in June created even more uncertainty for some students. Most of the countries included in the ban were located in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The federal data shows those regions experienced the largest declines in international student arrivals this August, with drops of 33 per cent from Africa, 17 per cent from the Middle East and 24 per cent from Asia - including a 45 per cent decrease from India, the country that sends the most students to the US.

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