Anti-immigrant Visa Policies Discouraging International Students Admissions in the USA

Due to the administration changes in the visa and immigration policies by Trump’s administration, there has been a noticeable dip in the number of international students who come to the United States for higher studies.

Not only because there has been a change in the immigration rules, but parents as well the students who were considering the United States for higher education have decided to stay away because of the violent crimes which are reported to have been taking place in the country.

Not only because of safety reasons, one of the more prominent reasons for the decline in the number of international students is the delay in getting the visa and sometimes even declining visa for international students has discouraged students from approaching the United States for higher education.

More than 44% of colleges in the United States have stated that the students refuse to immigrate to the United States due to security reason and fear for physical security due to the increase in the number of violence initiated with firearms and civilian unrest.

The Council of Graduate Schools had reported in the month of February that they had noticed a decreasing trend in student enrolment starting from the year 2016 with a fall of 3.3%, 6.6% in the year 2017 and is gradually decreasing in the year 2018 too.

And also, according to the Institute of International Education, there are around 5 million students who are pursuing an education at other countries, in which the United States accounts for only twenty-two percent of the total number.

And considering the increase of the value of the dollar, the students find the tuition fee to be more expensive as compared to other countries offering the same quality of education.

A former White House official has remarked that students are not in a welcoming environment in the United States. Not only that, even if the education of the students are completes, the administration of Trump government has made the issuance of worker visa and permanent residency even more stricter which is a deciding factor in the students who are looking to opt the United States as a place to settle down after their education due to these constraints in the visa and immigration policy.

Not only because of the new visa and immigration policy of the government, but the reason for the decline in immigration is because of the political environment of the United States, taking an example of the shutdown of the government in the United States.

The constant uncertainty in the administration policies introduced of the Trump government is also a contributing factor in the decline in student enrolment in universities because of the lack of clarity in the policies due to constant court battles concerning the approval of these policies.

In the month of August, the government had stated that if the international student and exchange students are found to have an unlawful presence, then they could be debarred from the country for a period of 10 years.

This has pushed many colleges and universities to press charges against the administration and using them because this could lead in the removal of international students and many exchange students who seem to come to the country and enrol in the colleges as an act of good faith.