EDUCATION/IMMIGRATION/STATE: “The number of visas issued to foreign students fell markedly last year amid stricter immigration policies, State Department data show, exacerbating financial challenges for some U.S. colleges and universities.
Some of the slide can be attributed to stepped-up competition from schools in other countries and less support for foreign study by some governments. But immigration attorneys and school officials say Trump administration policies are making the U.S. a tougher destination for foreigners and point to stricter scrutiny of those who do apply.
In the year ended Sept. 30, 2017, the State Department issued 393,573 student visas, known as F-1s. That was down 17% from the previous fiscal year and nearly 40% below the 2015 peak. The drop-off was particularly dramatic among Indian students this year, with a 28% decline in visas from the second-biggest feeder of foreign students at U.S. colleges…
There were about 78,000 fewer visas issued in fiscal year 2017 compared with 2016 for all countries, including about 35,000 fewer from China. Setting aside visas from China, the overall drop in visas issued was 13% from 2016 to 2017.
Universities say international enrollments help make for a richer cultural experience for all students on campus. They also boost schools’ finances amid state funding cuts; at public universities, nonresident students often pay two or three times as much as local students. Per-student funding at U.S. public colleges in fiscal 2016 was 15% below its 2008 level, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers association.”
-Laura Meckler and Melissa Korn, “Visas Issued to Foreign Students Fall, Partly Due to Trump Immigration Policy,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 11, 2018 04:55pm