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New Delhi: Indian student enrolments for higher education in the United States have witnessed a sharp and unprecedented decline in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term due to changes in immigration policies, tighter visa scrutiny and policy uncertainty disrupting long-standing education and migration pathways. As per study-abroad consultants, enrolments from India have fallen by nearly 70 to 75 per cent which is one of the steepest drops till now.
As President Trump completes one year back in the White House, immigration is one of the most unsettled concerns of his second presidency. From students and skilled professionals to long-term green card holders, Indians have found themselves navigating sudden policy shifts, fear of revocations and shrinking opportunities, with education being among the hardest hit sectors.
During the fall 2025 intake which was between August to October, US universities faced the first sign of trouble which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the total annual intake of international students. According to overseas education consultants, this intake witnessed the sharpest fall in the case of Indian enrolments.
One of the major factors behind the decline was the severe shortage of visa interview slots at US consulates in India. Those students who secured university admissions earlier were unable to schedule interviews in time, which eventually abandon or deferred the US plans. Only those who completed the applications by February or March 2025 managed to move forward.
Students who deferred their plans to the Spring intake (January to March) with the hope that visa conditions would improve were disappointed. The visa appointment slots continued to remain scarce while scrutiny of applicants’ social media activity intensified.
Consultants say the reversing years of US dominance as the top study destination for Indians prolonged uncertainty has forced students to explore alternative destinations such as Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe.
Indian students already studying in the US found that by mid-year data from the US Department of State indicated that nearly 8,000 student visas had been revoked up to December 2025.
In April 2025, several Indian students began receiving emails from their Designated School Officials (DSOs) informing them that the F-1 visa status had been revoked. Many students were also asked to leave the country within few weeks. In several instance, the revocations were linked to past criminal charges that had already been dismissed or resolved.
Skilled migration particularly the H-1B visa programme remained under intense political scrutiny. Proposals such as introducing a USD 100,000 H-1B fee and repeated calls to scale down the programme unsettled both employers and foreign professionals.
According to USCIS data, Indians account for nearly 72 per cent of all H-1B visa holders with the majority employed in the IT and technology sectors. Companies responded by delaying onboarding, freezing visa transfers and in some cases revoking job offers.
Over the past 12 months nearly one lakh visas across categories of which a large share belonging to Indians were revoked, as per the US State Department data. The surge of deportations has not been seen in decades.
In the year 2025, around 3,800 individuals were deported with Indian nationals among the worst affected. As per a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) report most Indians removed from the US were from Washington DC (3,414) and Houston (234) and this included 45 students.
Adding to the strain, the US State Department laid down a rule warning H-1B workers and H-4 dependents to keep their social media accounts public for visa vetting. As per officials, posts critical of the US could potentially lead to visa cancellations or deportation.
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security ended automatic extensions of Employment Authorisation Documents (EADs). Earlier, foreign nationals could continue working for up to 540 days while renewal applications were pending. The new rule forces workers to stop employment immediately after permit expiry unless renewals are approved.
