Think Immigration: Excluding International Students Hurts Agency Efficiency and the National Economy

International students are a major economic engine for the United States, contributing nearly $44 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting approximately 400,000 American jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year. They frequently pay full tuition at U.S. universities, helping to subsidize American students’ tuition. International students have an immense impact outside of economics as well, contributing to cross-cultural understanding, introducing global viewpoints in the classroom, and filling essential roles in STEM fields. The current Administration’s hostile posture towards international students threatens to undermine these crucial contributions, with significant implications for our economy, our universities, and Department of State (DOS) efficiency.

Under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DOS has engaged in an unprecedented targeting of international students for visa revocation, immigration enforcement, and removal. In March of this year, DOS revoked the visas and terminated the SEVIS records of over 4700 international students (some of whom have since had their statuses restored). In May, DOS paused interview appointments for F, M, and J visas, to allow consular posts to evaluate their processes and expand social media vetting criteria for these visa types. Student visa interview appointments did not resume until June 18, 2025. On June 4, 2025, the president issued a proclamation banning nationals of 12 countries from entering the U.S. and imposing a partial entry ban on nationals of an additional 7 countries, further hindering international students’ ability to study in the U.S.

Compounding the above, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to end “duration of status” for F, J, and I nonimmigrants, replacing it with a fixed admission period. This rule, along with other measures targeting students, would have significant impacts on the U.S. economy and limit international students’ contributions to academic life, research and advancement, and our global community. It will severely limit international students’ ability to pursue postgraduate studies and research in the U.S. Increased vetting processes also threaten to limit the number of international students admitted, in part by undermining the progress DOS has made improving agency efficiency and reducing backlogs.

For years, DOS’s widespread struggles with efficiency have been apparent, and applicants have endured long interview backlogs at consulates. AILA has previously issued recommendations to the agency on how to address inefficiencies and delays. The agency has made progress on its backlog; however, the targeting of international students threatens this progress.

The expanded screening and vetting of F, M, and J visas announced by DOS this spring will worsen existing backlogs and will be detrimental to agency efficiency. Consular officers are now required to investigate students’ social media to identify applicants who, per DOS, are hostile to the U.S., advocate for terrorism, or engage in antisemitic harassment or violence. The expanded screening and vetting coincide with significant layoffs in the department, saddling a reduced DOS workforce with a larger workload.

International student visa issuances dropped significantly this spring, with DOS issuing “12,689 fewer F-1 visas in May 2025 compared to May 2024.” This 22% decline in F-1 visa issuance reflects the burden that increased vetting has put on consular posts – vetting means that each appointment now requires additional time due to heightened scrutiny, reducing the number of available appointments. This sharp drop is not only operationally significant, it is also alarming, as it indicates that enrollment numbers may be low this year, and going forward, resulting in deleterious effects on the U.S. economy.

The targeting of international students will likely deter prospective students from studying in the U.S. Students are unlikely to choose a country where their academic freedom is not assured, where even something as simple as publishing an op-ed in a student newspaper could result in visa revocation or being thrown in detention without due process. Deterring international students from attending U.S. institutions will not benefit American students, because as described above, international students help to subsidize American students’ tuition, contribute to cross-cultural understanding, and introduce global viewpoints in the classroom. Instead, it will undermine the U.S. economy and weaken America’s competitive place in the field of higher education.

Expanded screening and vetting, combined with an increasingly hostile policy environment and the possible end of duration of status, will significantly diminish the attractiveness of the U.S. as an educational destination. Existing backlogs at consular posts will worsen, deterring even more international students. These new DOS policies will reverse gains in agency efficiency and have the potential to cause significantly lower international student enrollment at higher education institutions in the U.S. this year and into the future. This would carry significant and lasting economic implications for both academic institutions and the broader economy.