The variety of college students arriving from Asia to the US in August fell by practically 24 per cent this 12 months in contrast with final 12 months, in keeping with just lately launched US authorities information, marking the bottom August numbers on document exterior of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The info, based mostly on arrival data of worldwide college students printed by the Division of Commerce’s Worldwide Commerce Administration (ITA), consists of each new college students and present college students returning to the US. August arrival information sometimes function a dependable indicator of enrolment in US faculties as college students often arrive that month in time for the autumn semester, which usually begins in August or September.
The decline coincides with a collection of measures adopted by US President Donald Trump’s second administration, together with delays in visa processing, travel bans or restrictions on several Asian countries, threats to deport foreigners for expressing certain speech, and tighter vetting of visa candidates, particularly these from Mainland China and Hong Kong.
Many worldwide college students who sometimes go away the US over faculty breaks have additionally opted to remain put this 12 months, in concern that they wouldn’t be let in even when they’ve a sound visa.
Asia – which the ITA defines individually from the Center East, not like another US businesses – accounted for greater than 191,000, or 60 per cent of all student-visa arrivals this August.
China and India remained the 2 largest sources of worldwide college students, with greater than 86,000 and over 41,000 arrivals, respectively. Each noticed sharp declines from August final 12 months – down 12.4 per cent for mainland China and 44.5 per cent for India. Hong Kong, in the meantime, noticed a 7.7 per cent lower in arrivals.
