Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 9 IMMIGRATION June 6, 2025 Record Student Visa Denials Before Trump: 41 Percent Rejected In 2024 S tudent visas are the primary jump- ing-off point for most high-skilled immigrants to the United States. Immigrants study at America’s elite universities and then find jobs here when they graduate, mainly through the post-graduate employment authorization program called Optional Practical Training (OPT). These skilled workers are critical components of US competitiveness, in- novation, and growth. Nonetheless, in the past few months, the administration has engaged in a shocking assault on interna- tional students. The administration started by mass terminating status for at least 6,400 stu- dents based on dismissed charges, fishing license citations, traffic tickets, and other minor offenses. It suspended Harvard’s right to enroll foreign students entirely. Officials have arrested students who op- pose US foreign policy, including by writ- ing op-eds. Just this week, it temporarily suspended all student visa issuances to troll their social media to look for dissent and announced a new visa revocation policy for Chinese students. One Trump political appointee suggested this week that OPT should be ended. These egregious and unjustified as- saults come at a time when new statistics from the State Department show that, be- fore Trump took office, the international student visa denial rate reached the high- est level on record. The State Department rejected an unprecedented 41 percent of student visa applicants in 2024, surpass- ing 2023’s record of 36 percent. Student visas are known as F-1 visas. Figure 1 shows the F-1 student visa denial rate compared with the visa denial rate for all other nonimmigrant (i.e., temporary) visa applicants. As it shows, student visas usually have a similar rejection rate to other nonimmigrant visa applicants. How- ever, from 2021 to 2024, student visas were denied at nearly twice the rate of all other applicants. The student visa denial rate increased from a low of 15 percent in 2014 to 41 percent in 2024. In 2024, consular officers denied a re- cord 278,553 student visas. Figure 2 shows that more visas were rejected in 2024 than were issued in 2002 and 2005. The stag- gering number of denials occurred even as the number of issuances remained far below the peak year of 2015. Even in 2015, with far more applicants, there were fewer denials than in 2024. It now appears that the higher denial rates, which shot up in 2016, may have dissuaded some appli- cants from applying. The absolute num- ber of total student visa applicants has declined, and student visa issuances have declined 38 percent from 2015 to 2024. It is important to understand that before a student can even apply for an F-1 visa, they must already be accepted into a government-approved university. This means that the US Department of State rejected 278,553 students who each would have paid an average of $30,884 per year, totaling approximately $8.6 billion annu- ally in tuition and living expenses. Over four years, that number amounts to a significant $34.4 billion in lost tuition pay- ments to the United States. The State Department does not sepa- rately delineate the reasons for student visa denials, but nearly all nonimmigrant visas are denied for failing to prove “non- immigrant intent” (that is, the desire not to move to the United States permanent- ly). Applicants need to show sufficient ties to their home country that would impel them to return when their reasons for visiting have ended. The nonimmigrant intent subjective standard can be enforced in a variety of ways. Consular officers are supposed to consider only someone’s “present intent,” not how their intention might change if opportunities arise in the United States to stay legally. In practice, there is very little consistency in application. The unprecedented denials occurred even though the State Department of- ficials inWashington, DC, attempted to return to a lower standard of evidence for students that existed before Trump. The Foreign Affairs Manual now states that students “should be looked at differ- ently” because “typically, students lack the strong economic and social ties of more established visa applicants, and they plan longer stays in the United States.” It concludes that “the natural circumstances of being a student do not disqualify the applicant.” This change occurred in September 2021, before the start of fiscal year 2022. The State Department hasn’t disclosed the denial rate by nationality in 2023 or 2024, but the rise and fall of Chinese students is the most important trend in student visa policy in recent years (Figure 3). In 2024, however, the biggest change was among Indian nationals. Indian con- sulates issued an unprecedented 130,839 student visas in 2023, which is by far the highest total for India ever. In 2024, that number fell to 86,110 student visas, a decrease of 34 percent. According to data obtained by re- searchers through Freedom of Informa- By David J. Bier, Cato Institute PHOTO: in.usembassy.gov PHOTOS:cato.org Indian students interested in getting higher education in US. - Continued On Page 10