US F-1 visas issued to Indian, Chinese students declined dramatically in 2025, reveals new report
The number of US F-1 student visas issued to Indian and Chinese nationals dramatically fell in 2025 compared with previous years, according to a report
The number of US F-1 student visas issued to Indian and Chinese nationals dramatically fell in 2025 compared with previous years, according to a report by the Centre for Immigration Studies (CIS). The CIS report stated that the number of F-1 visas issued to Indian nationals (22,149) declined by 60 percent from the average number issued during 2017-19/2021-24 (55,717), and by 62 percent from 2024 (58,694). Meanwhile, the number of visas issued to nationals of China (40,034) declined by 46 percent from the 2017-19/2021-24 average (73,853), and by 34 percent from 2024 (61,075), the CIS report stated. According to the CIS study, students from India and the People's Republic of China (PRC) accounted for more than half of all international students enrolled at US post-secondary institutions during the 2024-25 academic year. It compared F-1 visa issuances during the May-August period from 2017 to 2025, while excluding 2020 from the analysis due to the significant decline in visa issuance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report cited the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) annual census to claim that in the academic year 2024/25, students from India (363,019) and China (265,919) made up 53 percent of all foreign students at the post-secondary level. "Yet, the number of F-1 student visas the US State Department issued from May to August 2025 to Indian and PRC [China] nationals fell dramatically from prior years’ levels," it said.
The May-August 2025 period typically sees the highest number of student visas issued ahead of the academic year. What does data reveal? According to CIS data, the US issued 22,149 F-1 visas to Indian nationals between May and August 2025, a decline of 60 percent from the average number issued during the 2017-19 and 2021-24 periods, when the figure stood at 55,717. The number also marked a 62 percent decrease from 2024, when 58,694 visas were issued. For Chinese nationals, the number of F-1 visas issued during the same period fell to 40,034 in 2025, down 46 per cent from the 2017-19 and 2021-24 average of 73,853, and 34 per cent lower than the 61,075 visas issued in 2024, the report said. The CIS report noted that it selected the May-August period for comparison, as most F-1 visas are issued during these months in preparation for the upcoming academic year. It added that in 2024, 77 per cent of all F-1 visas issued to Indian nationals and 76 per cent issued to Chinese nationals were granted during this period. Role of OPT The report highlighted the role of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, under which foreign students who complete their degrees can work in the US. According to IIE data cited by CIS, as many as 294,253 foreign students out of more than one million international students in the US during 2024-25 had completed their degrees and were working under OPT.
The BriefWire