Free Republic

The Trump administration has stepped up unannounced inspections targeting foreign students in the United States under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, with a sharp focus on those in the two-year STEM OPT extension. Officials have even been visiting student residences and university housing facilities for verification, according to immigration attorneys, as reported by Lubna Kably in The Times of India. The Open Doors report for 2023-24 shows that 3.3 lakh Indian students were in the US, with nearly 97,556 enrolled in the OPT programme, many in STEM-OPT. This makes them one of the largest groups affected by the checks....

Immigration data show a nearly 50% drop in the number of international students from India arriving in July and August 2025 compared to the same period one year ago. The numbers indicate that U.S. universities may experience a significant decline in Indian and other international students in the 2025-26 academic year. Educators say the Trump administration’s policies, which included suspending visa interviews, have contributed to the decline. Universities worry that new immigration rules will also make it challenging to attract international students to the United States. -snip- India is the largest source country for international students to the United States....