Foreign student enrollments in U.S. sink by 18% in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic and a flurry of immigration-related directives from the last administration devastated enrollment of international students at U.S. schools in 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

The number of international students, on their F-1 or M-1 visas, fell by 18 percent last year, to 1.25 million, according to a new tally by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which manages the Department of Homeland Security's student visa monitoring system.

Visa records for newly enrolled students tumbled by 72 percent, and F-1 student visas went down by more than 90 percent in August 2020 when the new school year started, according to the Journal.

The F-1 visa is issued to full-time academic student, while the M-1 visa category includes students in vocational or other non-academic programs.

"U.S. consulates around the world paused nearly all routine visa processing last spring, meaning aspiring students weren't able to schedule the required in-person interviews to be issued their visas," the report said.

"A series of orders over the summer barring international students not already in the U.S. and whose courses were being taught entirely online further complicated the process for those holding out hope of getting to a U.S. campus," it added.

The ICE figures include students in K-12 (kindergarten to Grade 12) schools, those pursuing academic programs in colleges and universities and those studying in vocational programs. The declines were spread across all degree levels, and for students from all regions of the world.

It is no sure thing next year will look much better, as many consulates and embassies remain closed or are processing visas only on an emergency basis. As of March 1, 43 out of 233 consular posts were operating at full capacity, according to the U.S. State Department.