A decline in international students at American universities is attributable, in part, to Trump administration immigration policies, according to a new analysis, and that loss could cost the U.S. more than $3 billion, including $23 million for Louisiana alone.
TheAssociation of International Educatorsbased its economic impact calculations on data colleges provided in response to anInstitute of International Education survey. It estimates there are 111,000 fewer international students heading into this academic year than in 2024-25, before President Donald Trump began his second term in office.
The analysis projects the count of international students for the 2026-27 could drop as low as 1.05 million, down from nearly 1.18 million enrolled in 2024-25.
“This downturn reflects the convergence of several headwinds: declining application volumes, persistent visa appointment bottlenecks and newly restrictive immigration policy changes,” the association said in its analysis.
Specific policy the report mentions includes Trump’s executive order in December that banned travel to the U.S. for residents of 39 countries. It effectively stopped the issuance of visas to students and participants in work- and study-based exchanges from those countries, among them Iran and Nigeria. Both send large numbers of students to the United States.
Visa access was also made more difficult ahead of this school year when the U.S. prioritized foreign ticketholders for the FIFA World Cup, which coincided with the peak period for student and exchange applicants, the analysis noted.
It also highlighted reports of limited and delayed appointments for international students at consulates in India and China — the top two countries sending international students to the United States. The same issue occurred across Europe, where many requests for expedited appointments were denied.
In addition to immigration, the Trump administration has also cut funding for academic research, which has resulted in fewer graduate student spots being available for international and American students.
The analysis citedrecent datafrom the Association of American Universities that show international applications to U.S. doctoral programs for this fall declined 21%. It contributed to a 15% reduction in overall doctoral program admissions linked to uncertainty over federal research funding.
The Association of International Educators recommends the Trump administration prioritize interviews and processing for all student, work-training and study/work-exchange visa applicants. It also suggested exempting applicants from countries under current travel ban as long as they remain subject to the standard background checks and vetting required as part of the visa process.
The $3.4 billion in projected losses for the U.S. economy from fewer international students is based on their “direct contributions,” according to the analysis. It said the decline in international graduate students was the “primary driver” of the economic losses.
Louisiana’s universities have seen a small but noticeable decline in international graduate student enrollment since Trump took office. The Southern University System count fell from 208 in fall 2024 to 113 in fall 2025, and the University of Louisiana System saw a drop from 924 to 916 in the same time period. LSU spokeswoman Meg Sunstrom has not responded to a request for LSU’s data.
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