Bad news for the U.S. economy and universities: Fewer foreign students could cost the country billions of dollars

Last year, Open Doors, an organization sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, reported that the number of international students studying at US colleges and universities reached approximately 1.1 million—the highest figure on record.

However, this coming fall, campuses across the country could see a sharp decline in international student enrollment. For public universities, which typically charge international students significantly higher tuition than domestic students, this drop could pose serious financial challenges. Private institutions, while charging the same tuition for all students regardless of nationality, also stand to lose a key source of revenue.

International students are not eligible for US federal financial aid, meaning they often rely on personal or family resources to fund their education. As a result, those who choose to study in the US tend to come from higher-income households and are less dependent on scholarships or grants. Their full-tuition payments—often without financial aid—make them an especially valuable demographic for many colleges and universities.

A report from the NAFSA: Association of International Educators estimated that in 2024, international studies contributed around $43.8 billion to the US economy. Additionally, through their enrollment, the NAFSA supported around 378,000.

US embassies pause the issuance of student visa appointments

The State Department has instructed embassies to withhold visas, even from students who have already been admitted. According to the administration, this is part of a broader effort to implement a social media monitoring campaign to vet applicants before issuing visas. A State Department cable obtained by Politico revealed that embassies were instructed to suspend issuing visa appointments for students, pending further notice, as the agency developed a monitoring system to evaluate visa approvals.

What does the social media monitoring program consist of?

The scope of this mission is ambitious, given that hundreds of thousands of acceptance letters are issued each year. The exact nature of the monitoring remains unclear, but administration comments suggest that the political views of prospective students will be scrutinized.

Although public opinion in the US is increasingly critical of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza—diverging from the policy consensus in Washington—the administration has attempted to portray pro-Palestinian activism as a foreign import. By restricting access to US higher education institutions for students whose social media reflects such views, the administration claims it is working to reduce antisemitism on college campuses.

However, many of the recent campus protests, including encampments, have been led by Jewish students and US citizens who share the same concerns as the international students now facing detention or threats of deportation.

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