The Trump administration has launched deportation procedures for students targeting Harvard University’s exchange student program, seeking to revoke student visas for Chinese citizens and participating in pro-Palestinian protests. So we looked at where exchange students from US universities are. Here’s what we found:
The most recent data available from Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 2023. It provides details of those receiving the F-1 visa, the most common type for international students, academics and trainees. Private schools such as Harvard University receive a large number of exchange students, but so do major public universities.
How many international students do American universities have?
Based on the number of records in the system managed by the Department of Homeland Security, as many as 1.5 million international students were in the United States in 2023 using F-1 or M-1 visas. In 2022, they are seeking just under 1.4 million degrees, and they are seeking multiple degrees at the same time, so they may overlap.
Most of these international students were not enrolled that year, but instead participated in a graduate training program. For example, Columbia University wrote in its 2023 annual report that it had 14,000 international students, and about 6,500 students in its training program, with around 3,000 academics.
According to an analysis by USA Today, among the largest universities granting F-1 visas, the top 500 consisted of over 1.2 million international students. This is the type of visa required to enroll in a degree program that includes fellow degrees, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the majority pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, foreigners can also work in the field of research with an F-1 visa for up to three years.
Which universities have the most international students?
The university’s most international students campus of the year was New York University, with around 25,000 F-1 visas issued on the main campus and about 7,500 people issued on the Brooklyn campus. Other campuses with a high international population were located in other major cities – Northeastern University (Boston), Columbia University (New York), and University of Southern California (Los Angeles).
Which public schools have the most exchange student visas?
Data shows that Arizona State University had nearly 18,000 international students in 2023, placing it fifth on the list. Another public university with a major international student population was the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. University of North Texas, Purdue University, Indiana.
How many international students do Harvard have?
According to the data, in 2023, Harvard University was not ranked among the top 20 universities for our foreign students. The university ranked 21st in the nation and third in the Boston region, behind Northeastern University and Boston University. Data shows that the school had around 9,700 F-1 visa students in 2023.
On May 22, the Trump administration tried to withdraw participation in the Harvard Student and Exchange Visitors program. This allows the school to register international students, including F-1 visa holders. The administration eased a week later, and introduced a process that allowed Harvard to argue that the program should be available.
How many international students have a visa at my university? Search the list.
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