International Students

Harvard University argued June 12 that the Trump administration may attempt to use "creative relabeling" to circumnavigate a court order blocking its attempt to end the institution's ability to enroll international students.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs has twice blocked attempts by the federal government to halt all international students from attending Harvard through temporary orders. Now, Harvard and the Trump administration are clashing over what a more permanent preliminary injunction should look like.

In legal filings, the Ivy League institution called on the court to approve its own proposal, which would place more restrictions on the Trump administration and require it to provide a status report detailing its compliance with the pending preliminary injunction. "Given the government’s pattern of behavior thus far and the chaos it has inflicted, this surety is more than warranted," it said.

In late May, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students by terminating its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification. The agency alleged that the university had permitted a “toxic campus climate” to flourish by accommodating “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators.”

The loss of SEVP certification — required to host international students — would have devastating impacts on both Harvard and its international students.

In the 2024-25 academic year, nearly 6,800 foreign students attended Harvard, according to institutional data. They made up 27.2% of the university’s total student body.

The day after the SEVP revocation, Harvard sued the federal government, arguing that the Trump administration acted abruptly and without “rational explanation.” 

Burroughs granted Harvard’s request for a temporary restraining order to block DHS' decision later that day, ruling the university would undergo “immediate and irreparable injury” if the ban was enforced before she could hear from both parties.

After the judge issued the order, the federal government formally notified Harvard of its intent to revoke the university’s SEVP certification on May 28, according to court documents. 

The notification alleged in part that Harvard failed to sufficiently fulfill a federal information request about its international students and gave the university 30 days to rebut the allegations.

The next day, Burroughs ruled that she would issue a preliminary injunction in the case and directed Harvard and the Trump administration to negotiate the terms of the order. 

The Trump administration then tried another tactic. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in early June ordering top federal officials to stop all international students heading to Harvard from entering the country.

The university updated its lawsuit and asked Burroughs also to block the proclamation, arguing it is tantamount to a "government vendetta against Harvard." Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order on June 5 against Trump's proclamation and extended the block on the SEVP revocation.

Now, Harvard and the Trump administration are fighting out the specifics of that injunction in court.

In legal filings on June 12, Harvard said its proposed preliminary injunction is "tailored to preserve the status quo" while its lawsuit proceeds.

But the Trump administration is pushing back on multiple aspects. One disputed passage would prohibit the federal government from restricting Harvard's ability to sponsor student visas outside of the attempted SEVP revocation, the university said. 

If DHS again tries to revoke Harvard's DHS certification, another part of the proposed order would delay the decision by 30 days. The timeframe would give Harvard time to seek another injunction, it argued. 

"Requiring Harvard to rush to the courthouse for a third time, and requiring the Court to take up these issues on an emergency basis yet again to prevent predictable harms — the inevitable result of the government’s approach — is inefficient, ineffective, and unnecessary," it said.

The federal government also pushed back on a proposal that would require it to promptly demonstrate how it intends to comply with the court order once approved.

The Trump administration will begin to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students," according to a short announcement on May 29 from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

At the president's behest, the U.S. departments of State and Homeland Security will also make unspecified changes to the criteria for student visas and increase scrutiny of applications from students from China and Hong Kong. 

Rubio called out Chinese students "with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields," though he didn’t specify what those disciplines are.

His announcement described the moves as putting “America First, Not China," but it did not address how barring Chinese international students or limiting their studies would strengthen U.S. domestic or foreign agendas.

However, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce cited a potential reduction in the theft of U.S. research and copyright during a May 29 briefing. 

The U.S. “will not tolerate the CCP’s exploitation of U.S. universities or theft of U.S. research, intellectual properties or technologies to grow its military power, conduct intelligence collection or repress voices of opposition," Bruce said. 

She added later that such concerns are "not new or confusing."

Bruce described Rubio as handling the visa process “very openly and transparently” but declined to say which fields of study were of concern to the department, citing national security concerns. 

"We don’t give details about what our methods are regarding visas," she said. "It might give up our hand and make certain things less effective."

DHS did not immediately respond to questions.

Over 277,000 students from China studied at U.S. colleges during the 2023-24 academic year, second only to the number of international students from India, according to the most recent Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education and the State Department. Another 5,600 students came from Hong Kong.

Bruce declined to estimate how many students currently in the U.S. could be affected by the forthcoming visa revocations, dismissing reporters' interest in "the numbers."

Stricter student visa vetting ahead?

Since retaking office, President Donald Trump has prioritized cracking down on international students — especially those involved in activism on college campuses.

For instance, his administration is considering more rigorous social media vetting for international students.

Amid those conversations, Rubio directed all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts to stop scheduling new appointments for student visa applicants, per Politico. 

Bruce said the pause is intended to be temporary and that students can still submit their visa applications at this time.

"There is an end point and it should be rather quick," she said. 

An unnamed federal official also told The Associated Press on May 27 the suspension does not affect applicants who have already scheduled visa interviews.

But a new lawsuit, filed May 29 by 15 student visa applicants, alleges that the pause for the vetting policy is unlawfully withholding access to visas.

Each student plaintiff has gained acceptance to a U.S. university and attended a visa interview between six and 18 months ago, the federal lawsuit said. The new pause on the application process will exacerbate the already "unreasonable delays" and put the students at further risk of losing their program spots, it argued.

Curtis Morrison, co-counsel for plaintiffs, noted Wednesday that the State Department has collected student applicants' social media data since 2019.

"These students and researchers were already waiting on the same national security vetting that the Trump administration is pretending to roll out as a new shiny thing," Morrison said in a statement. "The administration wants to pretend like the national security vetting they put in place in 2019 isn’t happening so that they can take credit implementing it all over again. It is a scam in plain sight.”

Other groups have taken issue with the proposal to heighten vetting. International students already represent the "most tracked and vetted category of nonimmigrants in the United States," said Fanta Aw, the CEO and executive director of the international higher ed association NAFSA.

"It is a poor use of taxpayer dollars to devote resources to screening students who are already subject to extensive background checks, while business visitors and tourists are not tracked at all," she said in a May 27 statement.

Aw also noted that international students and scholars have historically contributed to the U.S.' position as an innovation and research powerhouse.

"Undermining their ability to study here is self-defeating," she said. "With these actions, the United States will alienate the very minds that fuel its success."

For colleges, part of international students' appeal is their tuition dollars. They are often ineligible for student aid and are more likely than U.S. students to pay full sticker prices. Foreign students also offer a boon to the U.S. economy, contributing more than $50 billion in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

However, Trump suggested Wednesday that international students are taking spots away from U.S. citizens at most selective colleges, specifically calling out Harvard University.

"We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools; they can't get in because we have foreign students there," Trump said at the White House. 

His administration last week revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students over allegations the university fostered a toxic climate by permitting "anti-American" agitators on its campus. A federal judge paused that decision a day later and extended the block indefinitely on May 29.

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By TouchNet

In today’s higher education landscape, international students represent a vital and growing demographic. They enrich campuses with global perspectives, bolster institutional reputations, and contribute significantly to revenue. Unlike many domestic students, international students are less likely to receive financial aid or scholarships and often pay tuition and fees directly or with support from family. This makes them an indispensable part of the financial ecosystem for colleges and universities across the United States.

Yet despite their importance, there remains a critical gap in the financial experience between domestic and international students. According to the 2025 Student Financial Experience Report, international students are consistently less satisfied with the payment process compared to their domestic peers. They are less likely to agree with statements like "paying my tuition is easy to do" and "it’s easy to keep track of tuition payment details like due dates, payment plan options, and financial aid status." Additionally, they report that managing financial activities requires a high level of effort, which can detract from their overall academic focus.

At the same time, international students are more likely to report using mobile payment technologies while completing financial activities. They expect institutions to offer fast, flexible, and mobile-first solutions for handling tuition and fee payments. For these students, managing their finances plays a pivotal role in their academic success. 56% of international students reported that financial interactions positively impacted their academic success, making this an area where institutions can drive meaningful improvements in both student satisfaction and institutional performance.

So what can higher education institutions do to better serve this critical audience?

First, colleges and universities should prioritize mobile-friendly payment solutions. Mobile payment methods should not be an afterthought, but a primary channel for international students. By meeting students where they are — on their phones — institutions can simplify the payment process and better support their international population.

Second, clarity in financial communications is essential. Reducing complexity around payment due dates, payment plan options, and transaction statuses can significantly lower the "effort" students report in managing their finances. Institutions should invest in intuitive student account portals, clear notifications, and streamlined workflows that make it easy for students to stay informed.

Third, colleges and universities should view financial touchpoints as key contributors to student success. A positive experience at the bursar’s office or in a payment portal can have ripple effects, improving academic persistence and satisfaction for international students. Some institutions are taking it a step further and connecting academic and administrative services so that staff are better equipped to support students when and where they need it.

Finally, a seamless payment experience can become a competitive advantage. As international students and their families evaluate schools not only for academic excellence but also for ease of logistics and support services, promoting a world-class financial experience can set an institution apart.

TouchNet understands these challenges and opportunities. Our innovative student finance solutions offer self-serve student portals with easy access to all payment details, self-enrollment for payment plans, integrated cross-border payments, and more. By partnering with TouchNet, institutions can turn financial transactions into a competitive strength that helps drive student success.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on May 22 pulled Harvard University's authorization to enroll international students, dramatically escalating the already-tense battle between the Trump administration and the Ivy League institution. 

The agency accused Harvard of creating a "toxic campus climate" by accommodating "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators." Kristi Noem, head of the department, also accused the university of "coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."

The move, which the university on Thursday called unlawful, endangers the visas of Harvard's international students, as they must transfer to another college or they will lose their legal status. Almost 6,800 international students attended Harvard in the 2024-25 academic year, making up 27.2% of the university’s student body, according to institutional data.

In April, DHS threatened to revoke Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification if the university did not comply with an extensive records request about its "foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities" by the end of the month. International students studying in the U.S. can only attend colleges that are SEVP-approved.

But DHS' threat against Harvard, while substantial, was largely sidelined from public attention amid the Trump administration’s vast interruptions and cuts to the university’s federal funding. 

That includes the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $2.2 billion of Harvard’s funding the same day the university publicly rebuked the government’s demands for academic, hiring and enrollment changes. 

Since then, Harvard has sued the federal government over the withheld funding, arguing it is being used "as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking" and has "nothing at all to do with antisemitism” and compliance with civil rights laws as the Trump administration claims. 

The university now faces another attack on its financial well-being: the loss of tuition revenue from international students.

“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments," Noem said in a May 22 statement.

In an email Thursday, a Harvard spokesperson called DHS' actions unlawful and said the university's international students and scholars enrich it immeasurably.

“We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission,” the spokesperson said.

Last month, Harvard's undergraduate admissions office notified prospective international students that they may want to have a “backup plan" in place amid DHS' threats, The Harvard Crimson reported. To that end, the university began allowing them to accept admission to both Harvard and another non-American institution.

However, Harvard still bans international students from accepting spots at other U.S. colleges. In addition to legal reasons, the university said "the situation at Harvard might be replicated at other American universities," according to the Crimson.

Noam signaled her willingness to do just that.

"Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country,” she said Thursday, arguing that Harvard had "had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing" and refused.

Free speech advocates immediately panned DHS' decision.

"The administration seems hellbent on employing every means at its disposal — no matter how unlawful or unconstitutional — to retaliate against Harvard and other colleges and universities for speech it doesn’t like," the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said in a statement on May 22.

FIRE also called DHS' wide-ranging records request from Harvard "gravely alarming.” 

"This sweeping fishing expedition reaches protected expression and must be flatly rejected," the organization said.

SEVP, a bureaucratic program not typically in the national limelight, gained attention as DHS under President Donald Trump abruptly canceled scores of visas held by international students studying in the U.S.

These revocations, often enacted by the agency without warning or explanation, have prompted numerous lawsuits against DHS. 

On April 25, the Trump administration doublebacked and reinstated the canceled visas, the exact number of which is unknown. The move came after judges in more than 50 lawsuits issued temporary injunctions against the visa cancellations, according to Politico.

However, just days later, the Trump administration shared a policy expanding the authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to terminate educational visas through Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, the records management system run by SEVP.

Under the policy, evidence of an international student’s failure to comply with the terms of their legal status — not proof or “clear and convincing evidence” — would be enough for ICE to revoke it, according to guidance issued Thursday by the law firm Hunton.

The guidance also noted that the new policy did not address the federal government’s practice of terminating students’ visas without notifying them — meaning they may still have their legal status pulled without either them or their colleges being informed.

A federal district judge in Georgia issued a temporary restraining order on April 18 blocking the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of 133 international students who had joined a lawsuit alleging that the government had violated their due process rights. 

Judge Victoria Marie Calvert granted the plaintiffs’ request to restore their F-1 student status and work authorizations. The plaintiffs alleged that the federal government had unlawfully terminated their legal status without giving them proper notice or an opportunity to respond. 

The ruling came the same day as a similar lawsuit, filed in New Hampshire, challenged the Trump administration’s mass cancellation of student visas, escalating the legal fight over the federal government’s treatment of international students. 

As of April 18, the Trump administration had terminated the legal status of over 1,550 international students, according to a tally from Inside Higher Ed. Some of the revocations have targeted pro-Palestinian activists, but others have impacted students who weren’t involved in campus demonstrations. 

According to the lawsuit filed in Georgia, international students were notified that their records were terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, a federal database that monitors international students. SEVIS attributed the decisions to a criminal records check, visa revocation or both. However, the plaintiffs don’t have criminal histories, according to court documents. 

Calvert said the international students were likely to succeed in their arguments that the Trump administration overstepped its legal authority when it terminated their SEVIS records. Calvert pointed to students’ concerns that they would lose educational access, scholarships and career opportunities as a result of the terminations. 

“Many Plaintiffs are mere weeks away from attaining their degrees,” Calvert wrote. “The loss of timely academic progress alone is sufficient to establish irreparable harm.” 

Calvert’s order expires in early May. 

The New Hampshire lawsuit makes similar arguments, alleging that the Trump administration has violated federal law and flouted international students’ due process rights by abruptly terminating their legal status. 

The lawsuit, which is seeking to be certified as a class-action complaint, argued that the terminations have “severely disrupted the educational opportunities of students." 

One of the students, Linkhith Babu Gorrela, is slated to graduate in May, but he may not obtain his master’s diploma without legal status, according to the complaint. Another, Haoyang An, “will have to abandon” his graduate degree after being able to complete two other degrees in the U.S., the complaint stated. 

The lawsuit asks the judge to permanently block the Trump administration from unlawfully terminating the legal status of international students studying in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico — the states and territories of the plaintiffs’ colleges. 

Without judicial intervention, the students face potential detention and deportation. 

On April 18, a federal judge also ordered government officials to transfer Rumeysa Ozturk, an international student at Tufts University, from a Louisiana correctional facility to Vermont. Plainclothes immigration authorities detained Ozturk in March after the Trump administration revoked her visa earlier that month. Ozturk has not been charged with a crime, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

In the ruling, Judge William Sessions III wrote that Ozturk’s evidence supported her argument that the federal government detained her “to punish her for co-authoring an op-ed in a campus newspaper.”

In the op-ed, published last year, Ozturk and others criticized the university administration for rejecting several resolutions passed by Tufts’ undergraduate student government. The resolutions included demands that the university “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and for Tufts to divest from companies with links to Israel, the op-ed stated. 

Ozturk has argued that the Trump administration detained her to retaliate against political speech, violating her right to free speech and due process. 

“The government has so far offered no evidence to support an alternative, lawful

motivation or purpose for Ms. Ozturk’s detention,” Sessions’ ruling wrote.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on April 16 threatened to pull Harvard University's ability to enroll foreign students if the Ivy League institution does not comply with an extensive record request by April 30. The agency also canceled $2.7 million in grants to the university.

Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump reupped his calls for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status and all federal funding. This all comes just days after the Trump administration’s antisemitism task force announced it was freezing over $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts to Harvard.

The federal onslaught follows Harvard’s refusal to comply with a list of unprecedented demands from the Trump administration, which university leadership called an overstep of authority — an assessment with which free speech and higher education experts have agreed.

The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism first turned its attention on Harvard in March. The task force announced a review into $9 billion of the university's federal funding and claimed that Harvard has not done enough to protect Jewish students from harassment. However, it did not publicly cite specific incidents or allegations, and some free speech experts and Israeli academics argue the administration is weaponizing antisemitism concerns.

Days after announcing the review, federal officials delivered Harvard a laundry list of ultimatums, including changes to academic programming and “meaningful governance reforms." If the university complied, it had a chance — but no guarantee — to continue receiving federal funding, the task force said.

In response, Harvard became the first well-known institution to rebuke the Trump administration's demands. Alan Garber, president of Harvard, said the task force's desired oversight oversteps its authority and infringes on the university's constitutional rights.

"No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," he said in a Monday statement. 

Upon Garber's defiance, the task force froze billions of the university's federal funding and made further demands, including that it "audit the student body, faculty, staff, and leadership for viewpoint diversity."

On April 16, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Harvard was "bending the knee to antisemitism" under "its spineless leadership."

The department is now demanding that the university hand over "detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities" by the end of the month or immediately lose its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

International students studying the U.S. cannot attend a college that is not SEVP approved.

The program has gained national attention in recent weeks as waves of foreign students studying in the U.S. have had their visas revoked, often without warning or explanation. DHS is facing several lawsuits over its actions.

In 2024-25, 6,793 international students attended Harvard, making up 27.2% of the university's enrollment, according to institutional data.

"If Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students," DHS said in a statement.

Following Harvard's condemnation of federal interference attempts, Trump ratcheted up his criticism of the university online.

"Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges," he said in a Wednesday social media post. "Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

In a separate post, he said that Harvard should "be Taxed as a Political Entity." 

The Internal Revenue Service is reportedly making arrangements to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, according to CNN.

It's not clear that the Trump administration would have gone easier on Harvard had it complied.

Columbia University, another Ivy League institution, agreed to a similar round of task force demands following the cancellation of $400 million in federal contracts and grants. The task force praised the university's compliance but has yet to publicly reinstate its funding. The Trump administration also reportedly began pursuing a consent decree against Columbia, which would give the federal courts increased oversight of the institution.

Columbia has since followed Harvard's lead. In an April14 statement, its newly appointed acting president said the university "would reject heavy-handed orchestration from the government that could potentially damage our institution and undermine useful reforms that serve the best interests of our students and community."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule in December updating H-1B visa eligibility requirements and other changes it said would give employers greater flexibility in employing skilled foreign workers.

DHS’ rule follows up on a 2023 proposed rule that sought to “modernize” the H-1B program. Specifically, the Dec. 18 rule revises the definition of “specialty occupation” to clarify that while sponsoring employers may accept a range of qualifying degree fields when considering candidates for such occupations, the fields must be directly related to a job’s duties in order to meet the specialty occupation requirement.

Other changes include updated definitions for the nonprofit and governmental research organization categories, through which DHS would expand visa cap exemption eligibility for some petitions in these categories. Another set of updates clarifies requirements for visa petitioners. The rule is set to take effect Jan. 17, 2025.

Employers should prepare for some potential disruption caused by the new rule, attorneys with law firm Fragomen said in a Dec. 17 blog post. The firm said the rule would require use of a new Form I-129 and that adjudicators for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “may take some time to become familiar with the new legal standards.”

It’s one of many immigration-related adjustments employers might need to make ahead over the next few months. The upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump has caused some employment law experts to warn of the potential for worksite investigations, as well as auditing of employers’ Form I-9 compliance practices.

In a Dec. 17 press release, DHS said its latest rule aimed to improve efficiency as well as flexibility in the H-1B program.

“The H-1B program was created by Congress in 1990, and there’s no question it needed to be modernized to support our nation’s growing economy,” Ur Jaddou, director of USCIS, said in the release. “The changes made in today’s final rule will ensure that U.S. employers can hire the highly skilled workers they need to grow and innovate while enhancing the integrity of the program.”

The H1-B program is important to colleges, which frequently use it as an avenue to hire foreign faculty members. Meanwhile, it allows some of their international students to work in the U.S. after they graduate from their programs.

Last year’s H-1B proposed rule also contained provisions around preventing fraud that DHS addressed separately in a final rule published in January 2024. That rule amended the agency’s process for selecting H-1B visa program registrants, implementing a “beneficiary centric” process that selects petitions by unique beneficiary rather than by registration.

 

At least two high-profile colleges — the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Wesleyan University — advised international students to return to campus for the spring term before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration day. 

Trump, who will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, spent much of his first term advocating to weaken the visa programs on which international students rely. Some policy experts expect similar upheaval during his second.

Several other institutions with high international enrollment — including Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University — have sent guidance to international students about how to prepare for the transition or are bolstering resources for them. 

Trump restricted U.S. visa programs and international travel during his first White House term. Just days after taking office in 2017, for example, he signed an executive order only days after taking office in 2017 that temporarily banned entry to the U.S. of residents from several Muslim-majority countries. The order blocked some students and academics from returning to their studies in the U.S., though courts quickly struck down the first version of the policy. 

Trump campaigned on bringing back the travel ban in the lead up to the election. Now, some colleges are bracing for this and other policy shifts — and are warning their students to do the same.

UMass Amherst's Office of Global Affairs urged its international students to return to the U.S. before Jan. 20 "given that a new presidential administration can enact new policies on their first day in office" and based on the first Trump administration's history of travel bans.

International students made up 13% of the university's student body in fall 2022, according to federal data.

Undergraduate international students living on-campus will be allowed to return early if necessary and are advised to contact residential life, the office said.

The office, which also directed its message to international faculty and other employees, said it was issuing guidance "out of an abundance of caution" to help avoid potential travel disruption.

"Please note that this is not a requirement or mandate from UMass, nor is it based on any current U.S. government policy or recommendation," it said. "We are not able to speculate on what a travel ban will look like if enacted, nor can we speculate on what particular countries or regions of the world may or may not be affected."

Wesleyan's Office of International Student Affairs advised students studying under the F-1 visa to plan their return to campus around the inauguration, according to The Wesleyan Argus, a student-led newspaper.

"The safest way to avoid difficulty re-entering the country is to be physically present in the U.S. on January 19th and the days thereafter of the spring semester,” the office said in an email, citing the "uncertainties around President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for immigration-related policy."

In fall 2022, international students made up 11% of Wesleyan’s enrollment, according to federal data.

The university’s leadership has also expressed concerns for the university's undocumented students amid Trump's promises of mass deportations.

"Wesleyan will remain committed to principles of non-discrimination, including equal protection under the law, regardless of national origin or citizenship," President Michael Roth said in a blog post the day after the election. "The University will not voluntarily assist in any efforts by the federal government to deport our students, faculty or staff solely because of their citizenship status."

MIT, where international students made up 30% of fall 2022 enrollment, noted that the transition to a new administration can affect staffing at U.S. embassies abroad, which in turn could impact entry visa processing times.

The university’s International Students Office organized an information session earlier this month for international students hosted by an immigration attorney to help address questions.

David Elwell, associate dean and director of the office, said international students should assess their travel plans in light of the election but should not over-focus on conjecture.

"Avoid making decisions based on social media and news reports or rumors that predict new policies/regulations," Elwell said. “As past experience has illustrated, not everything that has been talked about during an election will be implemented.”

Instead, students should rely on official documentation from the appropriate governmental sources, he said.

However, Trump’s messaging on visa and immigration policies has been inconsistent.

On the campaign trail, Trump said international students who graduate from U.S. colleges should automatically get green cards to stay in the country. However, his campaign quickly walked back his statement and added strict qualifiers to the proposal.

The pattern of flip-flopping extends back to Trump's first White House term.

In one instance, his administration moved to deport international students enrolled solely in online classes at the start of the pandemic. However, the White House and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reversed the policy following backlash and lawsuits, including one led by MIT.

Trump’s approach to visa and immigration policies may have prompted international students to look elsewhere for their education.

In the first three years of his administration, 12% fewer foreign students studied in the U.S. compared to the country’s top international enrollment competitors, according to peer-reviewed research.

Losing these students can deal a major blow to colleges. International students often serve an outsized role in higher education, especially at tuition-dependent institutions, where they are more likely to pay a college’s full sticker price than U.S. students.

The 2023-24 academic year saw a record-breaking number of international students, according to the annual Open Doors report. More than 1.1 million international students studied in the U.S, making up 6% of the sector's total student population.

The number of international students at U.S. colleges hit an all-time high in the 2023-24 academic year, growing 6.6% year over year to reach more than 1.1 million students, according to the annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State. 

U.S. institutions enrolled over 502,000 international graduate students last year, another record-breaking total representing a 7.6% increase from 2022-23. However, international undergraduate enrollment declined 1.4% to roughly 343,000 students. 

Open Doors predicted continued growth of international enrollment for the 2024-25 academic year, based on its preliminary fall findings. But the federal government’s visa and work programs for international students could experience upheaval under President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, some experts say.

Though international students make up just 6% of higher education students, they play an important role in the sector and in the economy more broadly.

They are more likely than U.S. students to pay a college's full sticker price, offering a financial boon for tuition-dependent institutions. International college students contributed more than $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, per data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

The 6.6% increase in international students follows significant gains seen the year prior, when their enrollment jumped 11.5% year over year in 2022-23. With recent gains, international student enrollment has now recovered from steep losses seen during the pandemic. 

Open Doors' total count includes international students attending U.S. colleges in person and those participating in the Optional Practical Training program. OPT allows student visa holders to work up to a year in the U.S. in their field of study, with a two-year extension available for those educated in STEM fields. 

In the 2023-24 academic year, India outpaced China as the country sending the most students to the U.S. to study. Nearly 332,000 Indian nationals enrolled at U.S. institutions that year, an annual increase of 23.3%. That's compared with a total of about 277,000 Chinese students, a 4.2% year-over-year decrease.

The change comes as colleges focus on recruiting in India. A significant majority, 81%, told Open Doors that they prioritized outreach to India for graduate student recruitment, and 65% said they did so for undergraduate students.

Over half of international students, 56%, enrolled in STEM programs in 2023-24, with a quarter studying math and computer science, according to Open Doors. Around one-fifth, 19%, studied engineering.

The majority of states, 44, reported an increase in international enrollment. Some of the most populous states still host the most international students — in order, California, New York and Texas — but Open Doors noted that the largest year-over-year spikes could be found in the Midwest.

In 2023-24, Missouri saw a 34.6% year-over-year increase in international enrollment, reaching roughly 33,000 students. Michigan's international student body jumped 13.8% to just over 38,000 students during the same period, while Illinois saw a 12.6% increase representing about 62,000 students.

California still saw more international students than those three states combined — almost 141,000 — but that total represents just a 1.8% increase from 2022-23.

Open Doors predicted continuing growth among the U.S. international student population in 2024-25, based on an IIE survey of more than 680 institutions. Monday's report found that international enrollment rose 3% in fall 2024 compared to the year before. In a reversal from the 2023-24 findings, colleges reported a 6% increase in international undergraduate enrollment and a 2% decline in graduate students.

But Trump — who tightened U.S. visa programs during his first White House term — will take office just before the spring 2025 semester. 

While on the campaign trail earlier this year, Trump said international students who graduate from U.S. colleges should automatically get green cards to stay in the country. But his campaign quickly added strict qualifiers to the then-candidate's statements, causing some to dismiss Trump's comment as merely a talking point, according to The Times of India, one of the country's largest English-language news sources.

Several policies during Trump’s first presidency made it more challenging for international students to study in the U.S. High-profile flip-flops in policies also sowed confusion among prospective students from abroad. 

During the height of COVID-19, the Trump administration moved to deport international students enrolled solely in online classes, though the White House quickly reversed that policy amid backlash. 

The administration also suspended issuances of H1-B temporary work visas from June 2020 to the end of that year. The White House considered pausing the OPT program as well, but it ultimately remained intact. 

The conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the program last year brought by a technology worker union. But Trump's history of vacillating policies could shake international students' faith in the programs on which they rely.

During the first three years of Trump’s administration, 12% fewer foreign students enrolled in U.S. colleges compared to the country's top international enrollment competitors, according to peer-reviewed research.

Nevertheless, Allan Goodman, CEO of IIE, expects international enrollment to remain resilient amid the political transition, he told reporters Wednesday.

"International enrollment in America has tended to increase," he said. "The only times that stopped were initially after 9/11 in 2001 and then in the wake of the pandemic."

Goodman said students are applying for and receiving record numbers of nonimmigrant visas — a trend he said he expects to continue.