US Student Visas: As India, China See Sharp Fall, These Countries Saw Higher Approvals
News world US Student Visas: As India, China See Sharp Fall, These Countries Saw Higher Approvals US Student Visas: As India, China See Sharp Fall
News world US Student Visas: As India, China See Sharp Fall, These Countries Saw Higher Approvals US Student Visas: As India, China See Sharp Fall, These Countries Saw Higher Approvals Published By, Last Updated: August 07, 2026, 09:45 IST However, number of US F-1 student visas issued to Indian and Chinese nationals dramatically fell in 2025 compared with previous years. Rapid Read Washington says the goal is to reduce visa overstays and improve compliance with immigration rules. US Student Visa: As the number of US student visas issued to Indian and Chinese nationals fell by a significant margin in 2025, students from several countries recorded growth in visa approvals earlier in the year. According to the data by education platform ApplyBoard, F-1 student visa issuances in the first half of fiscal 2025 increased for students from countries including Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Colombia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Zimbabwe recorded the biggest rise at 162%, followed by Pakistan at 44.3%, Colombia at 22.8%, Bangladesh at 20.1%, Vietnam at 20%, Saudi Arabia at 6.8% and Germany at 3.8%. However, 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).
As per the data, US consulates issued 22,149 F-1 student visas to Indian nationals between May and August 2025, marking 62% decline compared with the 58,694 visas issued during the same period in 2024. The report noted that the May-August period is closely watched because most student visas are issued before the start of the academic year, making it a key indicator of international student enrolment trends. According to the report, visas issued to students from China also saw a 34 per cent decline to 40,034 in 2025 when compared with 61,075 travel documents issued the previous year. In the 2024-25 academic year, as many as 3,63,019 students from India and 2,65,919 from China made up 53 per cent of all foreign students (1,177,766) at the post-secondary level, according to the annual census by the Institute of International Education (IIE). “Of the more than one million foreign students in the US during the 2024/25 academic year, fully one-quarter (294,253) had already completed their degrees and were working in the US pursuant to ‘Optional Practical Training’ (OPT)," the report said, quoting the IIE census.
It said that of the total number of students working under the OPT programme in 2024-25, 49 per cent (143,740) were from India, followed by 21 per cent or 61,981 from China. According to the Institute of International Education’s 2024-25 census, 363,019 Indian students and 265,919 Chinese students were enrolled at US post-secondary institutions. Together, they accounted for 53 per cent of the 1,177,766 international students in the country. The CIS report, authored by senior legal fellow George Fishman, also examined the role of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, which allows eligible foreign students to work in the US after completing their studies. Nearly 294,253 foreign students were working in the US under OPT during the 2024-25 academic year, according to figures cited by the report. Of them, 143,740 were from India and 61,981 from China, meaning students from the two countries accounted for nearly 70 per cent of OPT participants. Fishman has advocated ending the OPT programme, arguing that reducing the flow of foreign students into the programme would protect employment opportunities and wages for American students and workers. “I have advocated for the termination of OPT in order to protect the wages and employment opportunities of American students and workers; and 2) end the George W.
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