Class is back in session for most college campuses across the country.<\/p>\n
As studies begin, there may be a noticeable change to some universities\u2019 international student population.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we seen particularly with the start of the fall is a lot of students had difficulties getting appointments to get their visas,\u201d said Fanta Aw, CEO and executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.<\/p>\n
Aw said her non-profit is seeing a decline in international students applying to attend American universities amid the Trump administration\u2019s visa crackdown.<\/p>\n
She said many are choosing to go to schools in other countries including Germany, Spain and Japan.<\/p>\n
She said in addition to the enrollment decline, communities and businesses surrounding universities may also feel the loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur projection estimated that there will probably be about 100,000 fewer students, and that will lead to $3.4 billion in lost revenue for the United States,\u201d said Aw. \u201cAnd that is going to lead to close to 40,000 jobs that will be lost as a result of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In New York, SUNY chancellor John B. King Jr. said the school doesn\u2019t have the numbers for the fall semester, but last year, SUNY\u2019s international student enrollment was down a little over 3%.<\/p>\n
King was down in graduate students, but up for undergrads.<\/p>\n
According to the school\u2019s website<\/a>, SUNY has a student population of more than 370,000 students. Of that amount, nearly 18,000 are international students from 180 nations around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know yet for fall,\u201d King said. \u201cMy sense is that we\u2019re likely to see further diminution of especially graduate enrollment of international students. The federal government has created a lot of new obstacles, harder to get a new visa. \u00a0The environment for international students feels unwelcoming in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n