Why Student Visa Rejections By US Govt Have Increased, Impact On Indians Explained

The total number of applications peaked at 8.56 lakh in 2014-15, but saw a steady dip in the next few years, till it hit a low of 1.62 lakh in the Covid year of 2019-2020.

Post-Covid, while the number of applications steadily increased, there was a 3% dip in 2023-24 — from 6.99 lakh in 2022-23 to 6.79 lakh in 2023-24. As a result, the absolute number of visa denials in the last fiscal year (2.79 lakh) represents the highest percentage in at least a decade. A total of 4.01 lakh F-1 visas were issued in 2023-24, down from 4.45 lakh the previous year, as per The Indian Express.

Why is there a decline in issuance of student visas, how does this affect international student landscape? Let us understand F-1 visas.

What Is F-1 Visa?

F-1 is a non-immigrant visa issued to students to temporarily live in the US for a defined period of time while studying in a school, college or seminary.

F-1 visas comprise more than 90% of all student visas issued by the US annually. In contrast, M-1 visa is designated for vocational and non-academic programmes.

The F-1 visa has a pretty broad application but also some very clear rules. The first is that an individual will have to come to the US with the intent to temporarily study.

He or she must be studying at an academic institution, not training at a vocational school, as this will require an M-1 visa. Your academic institution must be approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP), meaning it needs to be accredited to be able to accept foreign students on F-1 visas.

The person will be able to work, but because this is a non-immigrant visa, they will have limited choices as to where you can work and the type of work. Finally, although your spouse and children can come with you, they will not be able to work but your children can enroll in schools. They will be on F-2 visas and tied to your visa’s status.

What Is The Country-Wise Break-Up Of Visa Denials?

Although the US government has not shared data on the country-wise refusal rate on F-1 visas, the number of student visas issued to Indians in the first nine months of 2024 had decreased by 38% as compared to the corresponding period in 2023, as per a report by The Indian Express.

Only 64,008 student visas were issued to Indians from January to September 2024, down from 1.03 lakh in the corresponding period in 2023.

The State Department website now says that the monthly reports from March-September were updated in December 2024. With this, the total from January to September is 63,973.

According to data, 65,235 visas were issued during the corresponding period in 2021, and 93,181 in 2022.

According to The Open Doors 2024 report, the number of Indian students in 2023-24 surpassed that of the Chinese, making Indians the largest international student cohort (29.4% of international students) in the US. There were 3.31 lakh Indian students in the US in 2023-24, the highest figure for the Indian cohort so far, according to the Open Doors data.

What’s The Reason?

The US State Department spokesperson pointed to a “change in methodology" for calculating visa data from FY2019 onwards, and said the annual ‘Report of the Visa Office’ is to be referred to for final statistics for the fiscal year, The Indian Express mentioned.

“Our previous methodology was based on a count of workload actions, which were not linked by application. The new methodology more accurately reflects final outcomes from the visa application process during a specified reporting period. The new methodology follows visa applications, including updates to their status (i.e., issued or refused), which could change as the fiscal year progresses, or result in slight changes in data for earlier years. Therefore, beginning with FY 2020, individual monthly issuance reports should not be aggregated, as this will not provide an accurate issuance total for the fiscal year to date," the spokesperson said.

How International Student Landscape Gets Impacted

The increase in US student visa rejections comes at a time when several other top countries for higher education are tightening their policies.

In 2024, Canada announced a cap on study permits, reducing the number by 35% compared to 2023, citing concerns over the strain on housing, healthcare, and other public services. The Canadian government also announced an additional 10% reduction in study permits for 2025.

Nearly 52% of study permit applications were refused by Canada in 2024, up from 38% in 2023. The overall refusal rate for would-be temporary migrants was 54%.

Similarly, the United Kingdom, where Indian students form the second-largest group of international students, imposed new restrictions last year preventing foreign students from bringing dependents. This move has resulted in a decline of up to 40% in international student enrollments across British universities.

There was a 38% reduction in the number of study visas granted by Australian immigration officials from October 2023 to August 2024, an all-sector average driven by a 67% decrease in the vocational (VET) sector and a 50% reduction in the English-language training sector (ELICOS), according to Studymove data consultants. In addition, there were 25% fewer visas issued to students applying to Australian universities in the latter half of 2024.