Visa trouble no deterrent, number of Indian students in US campuses stayed robust in 2024-25

India has remained the top contributor of international students to the United States for 2024-25, registering 3,63,019 students on American campuses. The number marks a 10% rise from last year, a slower pace compared with the 23% jump recorded in 2023-24, yet strong enough to keep India comfortably ahead of other countries at a time when global enrolment is weakening, The Times of India reported on November 18.

The steady growth comes despite tighter visa checks, longer waiting periods for interview slots and uncertainty around work-visa pathways. These challenges have not deterred Indian applicants, even as early indicators show a broader cooling in international interest, ToI's report (by Manash Pratim Gohain and Hemali Chhapa) said.

Overall global enrolment in US institutions fell 7%, and the Fall 2025 Snapshot shows a 1% dip in total international students and a sharp 17% fall in new arrivals.

China, once the largest overseas student group in the US, continued its decline for the fifth consecutive year. Its numbers dropped another 4% to 2,65,919 students. This narrowing gap reflects shifts in mobility patterns, geopolitical anxieties and changing preferences among Chinese families. It also demonstrates India’s expanding share of the global student market.

Indian students are now also among the biggest spenders. Their total expenditure in the US reached $14 billion in 2024-25, covering tuition, living costs and other expenses. The figure is close to China’s $14.6 billion, the highest among all countries, and up from India’s $11.8 billion the previous year. The financial footprint underscores the economic importance of Indian students to American institutions and local economies.

The enrolment mix for India shows uneven trends. Undergraduate registrations grew 11% in 2024-25, but graduate enrolments — historically India’s strongest category — fell 9.5%. Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows students to gain work experience after completing their degrees, recorded a 47% surge. The spike in OPT suggests that students are seeking pathways to practical exposure even as higher-level academic enrolments fluctuate.

Globally, the student landscape is shifting. New undergraduate enrolments in the US rose 5% in Fall 2024, but new graduate entrants fell 15%. The Snapshot Survey of Open Doors 2025 reported a 2% rise in undergraduates and a 12% decline in graduate students. Strong graduate-level intakes in earlier years continue to push OPT numbers higher, with a 14% increase this year.

Most Indian students continue to favour public institutions, which drew 63% of enrolments, while private institutions attracted 37%. Their preferred destinations remain consistent: Texas, New York, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India’s students succeed wherever they go “not by chance, but by capability and character”. He added that Indian youth are shaping research ecosystems abroad with the same confidence seen in India’s domestic growth story.

Jason Czyz, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education, told ToI that international students contribute significantly to innovation, scholarship and cross-cultural understanding at US campuses.

International students today make up 6% of the US higher education population. According to the US department of commerce, they contributed nearly $55 billion to the US economy in 2024 and supported more than 3.5 lakh jobs, according to NAFSA. The US continues to be the leading destination for foreign students, even amid signs of cooling demand.

Twelve of the top 25 source countries reached their highest-ever student totals this year, including Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, Ghana, India, Italy, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Spain and Vietnam. Looking ahead to the next admissions cycle, US institutions are intensifying their undergraduate outreach in Vietnam (55% of surveyed institutions), India (49%), Brazil (39%) and South Korea (39%). For graduate recruitment, the focus remains on India (57%), followed by Vietnam (32%), China (28%) and Bangladesh (28%).