The number of F-1 student visas issued to international students sharply declined last year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s analysis of U.S. Department of State data. Between May and August, the number of approved F-1 visas — the visa most commonly issued to international students in the United States — decreased by 36 percent compared to the same period last year.
This decline in student visa issuance follows a series of Trump administration policies that have targeted international students, including visa revocations for misdemeanor offenses and a month-long pause in the scheduling of student visa interviews last May.
The State Department has also implemented stricter vetting in the visa approval process that involves a review of applicants’ social media profiles and has placed complete or partial restrictions on the entry of those coming from a list of countries announced in a December executive order. In some instances, these policies have been university-specific, with particular attention focused on Harvard and its students.
Recent economic data has revealed that the drop in international students could have a significant impact on the American economy. According to an economic analysis released by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, these policies are predicted to lead to a $1.1 billion revenue loss and nearly 23,000 fewer jobs in the American economy compared to last year.
Thus far, the government’s restrictions have translated to 97,000 fewer student visas awarded, prompting concern from colleges that are increasingly relying on international students’ tuition dollars. DePaul University moved to reduce spending by 30 percent after being affected by the decline in international students, and other universities have begun to take the drop in enrollment into account in their financial planning.
Bucking the national trend, the College did not see a significant drop in international student enrollment for this year. The Class of 2029 includes 60 international students, or 10.2 percent of the class, according to the Common Data Set. International students made up 11.13 percent of the Class of 2028, 9.06 percent of the Class of 2027, and 7.41 percent Class of 2026.
It is unclear how the evolving visa policies and increased scrutiny of international students may affect the makeup of next year’s class, as the current admissions cycle is ongoing.
Though the overall proportion of international students at the College has remained consistent, at least one accepted student has been unable to attend the College because of immigration restrictions. A student admitted to the Center of Development Economics (CDE) this past year was unable to attend due to President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the Record reported in October.
The College has responded to frequent changes to immigration policy by creating a website containing centralized information and resources to support international students. “In March 2025, President Maud S. Mandel announced the creation of several campus working groups to track federal actions in several areas, including immigration,” Chief Communications Officer Meike Kaan wrote in an email to the Record last month. “We also implemented their recommendation to launch a website providing information and resources to campus.”
International Student Services (ISS) continues to offer services to support the international Williams community. This spring, immigration attorney Mary Walsh will return to campus to meet one-on-one with students and Emma Lezberg ’20 will continue her series with faculty and staff focused on best practices for supporting non-U.S. citizen students, according to Director of ISS Ninah Pretto.
