International undergraduate enrollment at American colleges fell by an average of 20 percent this spring versus the same period last year, a Bloomberg News report revealed.
The data emerged from a study released last Monday by groups including NAFSA, the leading U.S. international education association, drawing on answers from 149 American institutions. Roughly 62 percent of those schools saw foreign enrollment fall in both undergraduate and graduate programs when measured against spring 2025. Graduate programs took an even harder hit, with enrollment sliding by an average of 24 percent.
Foreign students generally pay full tuition and have long served as a critical funding source for universities, especially as domestic enrollment confronts shrinking demographics. The administration has squeezed foreign student admissions as part of a wider push to overhaul higher education and narrow immigration channels.
Fewer students begin their studies in spring, but the semester's trends offer a preview of the larger fall class. Should international enrollment sink anywhere close to 20 percent in autumn, certain colleges could confront severe financial shortfalls.
The turning point arrived last spring when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested and detained dozens of foreign students, at times entering campuses or dormitories to do so, and stripped thousands more of their legal residency. Courts eventually restored most of those statuses after the administration lost multiple legal battles, but the crackdown made a lasting impression on prospective applicants.
Total international enrollment dipped by 1.4 percent last fall compared to the prior year, though most students arriving then had submitted their applications before the White House intensified its efforts. ICE officers did not begin detaining students until March, and the State Department halted student visa interviews during the busiest processing window in May before unveiling stringent new screening procedures the following month.
NAFSA executive director Fanta Aw cautioned that fall enrollment will probably deteriorate further. International students typically face extended visa timelines even under ordinary conditions, prompting many to apply a year or more before they intend to start classes, which means the turbulence of the past year will only fully register in the upcoming cohort.
"Our sense is that the fall enrollment, best case scenario, will be similar to spring," she said. "Most likely, it will be worse."
Among surveyed schools, 84 percent identified "restrictive government policies" as the chief cause of the downturn, and more than one third indicated the losses would likely force budget reductions. Student visa approvals dropped by 36 percent over the summer.
The NAFSA survey, carried out alongside other international education organizations, gathered responses from hundreds of colleges around the world, including schools in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Those nations, also pointing to tighter immigration rules, reported declining international enrollment this spring. Institutions in Europe and Asia, however, said their foreign student numbers grew.
This 20 percent drop marks an encouraging initial move toward refocusing American higher education on its core mission of educating American students. Universities have spent decades chasing foreign tuition revenue at the expense of domestic applicants, and this recalibration is well overdue. The administration must follow through with stricter limits on both legal and illegal immigration to ensure that American institutions prioritize American citizens above all else.
