How Indians Stand As Donald Trump's Team Orders Pause On US Student Visas

India has for years been among the top two countries from where students go to the United States of America to pursue their higher education. In the last few years, Indians have outranked China to emerge as the largest contingent of international students in the US.

This means that the US's decision to pause student visa interviews globally will impact aspiring Indian students the most. The Donald Trump administration, had on Tuesday, ordered its embassies and consulates worldwide to not schedule any new interviews for student-visa applicants. The reason behind the move is that the Trump administration is in the process of ramping up vetting of social media profiles of all applicants.

WHY THE PAUSE IN US STUDENT VISAS?

This new move is likely to result in significantly longer wait times for applications to be scrutinized, thereby delaying the interview schedules and making the visa approval process much lengthier. To tackle the existing backlog of applications, the US government has decided to defer the interview process till existing forms aren't perused and the applicant's background checks, including online activity, is not complete.

There is no deadline set for this, so it is uncertain as to how long the "pause" is likely to remain in effect. This latest development comes amid President Trump's ongoing battle with US universities and colleges, including those which are part of the Ivy league. 

Donald Trump also wants to reform the higher education system in the US, while simultaneously initiating a crackdown on student activism and "Left liberal" legislation that promote diversity policies, which the Trump Administration has labeled as "divisive". Students visas are also being revoked and students deported if they are found to indulge in on-campus protests, especially on political issues, such as the war in Gaza. The US government has called such protests "anti-Semitic" and students who participate in it, "terror sympathisers". This is what has led to the enhanced scrutiny and background checks of applicants and their social media activity.

ALL ABOUT INDIAN STUDENTS IN THE US

According to the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, which is the only long-standing, comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars in the United States, there are more than 11,26,690 foreign students enrolled in America as of 2023-24. A year earlier it was 10,57,188.

Of these, 3,31,602 students, who went to study in the US in 2023-24 are from India - the highest among all countries globally. China followed in second place with 2,77,398 students. All the other nations combines made up the remaining 5,17,690 for that year.

India's year-on-year increase in student enrollment in the US was a staggering 23.3 per cent. Indian students alone made up for nearly 30 per cent of all the international students in America in 2023-24.

Of the 3,31,602 Indian students who went to study in America last year (2023-24), 42.9 per cent pursued an education in Math and Computer Science. This was followed by Engineering, which accounted for 24.5 per cent of all Indian students. The fields of Business and Management, Physical and Life Sciences, and Health Professions saw 11.2 per cent, 5.4 per cent, and 2.7 per cent of Indian students.

While most Indians students last year enrolled at a Graduate-level - 1,96,567 - Undergraduate students accounted for 36,053 of the total. Students in Optional Practical Training or OPT made up 97,556 of the Indian applicants, while the tally of non-degree students stood at 1,426.

Open Doors is sponsored by the US Department of State with funding provided by the US Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education or IIE.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DIKTAT

Implementing an immediate pause in student visa interviews for the year 2025-26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote, "Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued." His instructions have gone out to US Embassies and diplomats across the world.

Highlighting the rigorous nature of the visa vetting process, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the US will thoroughly assess the necessity of allowing international students and tourists in the United States.

"We're going to continue to vet. Whether you're a student or a tourist who needs a visa, or whoever you are, we're going to be looking at you...We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that's coming here, whether they are students or otherwise," she said.

#WATCH | On the student visa issue, US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce says, "...We don't speak about individual visa cases. We don't speak about the nature of the choices made about individuals. We do know, though, that we take very seriously the process of vetting who… pic.twitter.com/pMoxMj5V8V

— ANI (@ANI) May 27, 2025

She further emphasised that the goal of the exercises is to "make sure that people who are here and understand what the law is, that they don't have any criminal intent, that they are going to be contributors to the experience here, whether however short or long their stay is, and so the details of which I won't reveal."

"But it's one that will hopefully achieve our understanding of who deserves to visit this country and who does not," she added.