International students are struggling to secure visas as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump aggressively moves to curtail immigration, threatening college budgets across the United States.
Arizona State University’s president said 1,000 incoming international students still need visas, a hit to the school’s budget he estimates would be in the "tens of millions of dollars.” Furman University in South Carolina is already expecting lower enrollment in the fall due to the situation abroad. Other schools are providing contingency plans, like allowing their international pupils to start their first semester in London.
Trump’s attacks on higher education and immigration are colliding, prompting warnings from both private and public colleges that the policies will chill enrollment. Adding to an already tough fiscal backdrop, a dip in international students threatens to further erode schools’ bottom line, as most foreign students pay full tuition. Even after the U.S. lifted its nearly monthlong pause in visa interviews in mid-June, international students are seeing fewer appointments, delays and additional vetting. With the start of the academic year just weeks away, they’re running out of time.
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