It seems that the great American Dream is crumbling, and the US no longer is the #1 destination for young students, seeking quality education.
As per latest data revealed, it has been found that US Student visa for Indians has dropped by 28% in 2017 as compared to 2016.
And not just India, student visa for from other countries have also dropped.
Are we witnessing a major transformation here?
US Education: Number Of Student Visas Has Dropped
US Govt. issues F-1 visa for students, who wish to study in US colleges and Universities.
As per State Department, Data released recently, it was found that F-1 visa for Indians has dropped by a massive 28%, which is almost one-third.
Compared to 417,728 visas in 2016 to only 393,573 F-1 visas were issued, which includes all countries.
Out of this, the biggest drop came from India – Compared to 65,257 visas in 2016, only 47,302 student visas were issued in 2017.
India, along with China, Saudi Arabia, Canada and South Korea are the top 5 countries which send their students to the US.
For Chinese students, the drop was 24%.
Note here, that in 2017, US implemented a stricter visa policy for Chinese, which may have resulted in the drop.
Colleges in the US are no doubt concerned with the loss of students as it means the loss in revenues.
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers said,
“Nearly 40% of US colleges are seeing declines in applications from international students, and international student recruitment professionals report ‘a great deal of concern’ from students and their families about visas and perceptions of a less welcoming climate in the US.”
What is The Reason For Less Student Visas?
The recent flip-flop in Trump policies regarding immigrants and issuance of work visa can be one of the reason.
Trump administration has issued stricter admissibility rules, which means that lesser students are allowed to stay in the US once their course ends.
And this means finding jobs has become even harder.
Interestingly, the number of students applying in the US was increasing until 2016, but after that, the numbers decreased.
When countries like Japan are rolling out the red carpet for the skilled Indian employee, then it makes less sense to choose the US, where the rules are getting tougher, day by day.
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