A recent report from one of the world’s largest nonprofits dedicated to international education and exchange has grim projections involving international student enrollment at U.S. universities and colleges.
The report, released by the Association of International Educators and JB International, shows that the “U.S. economy could suffer a loss of $7 billion and 60,000 jobs” in its recently released International Student Enrollment Outlook and Economic Impact to the United States. The report breaks down the projected losses by state for the 2025-26 school year. Connecticut is projected to lose $122,665,118.
According to NAFSA, among the main factors in the decline are visa interview suspensions, limited appointment availability, downward visa trends and visa bans. The report noted that a visa interview suspension took place between May 27 and June 18, which the nonprofit considers “peak issuance season for students seeking to enroll in a U.S. institution this fall.”
The NAFSA report showed consulates in India, China, Nigeria and Japan had limited or no appointments for international students. India and China are the top two international countries that send students to the U.S.
According to NAFSA, F-1 visa issuances were down 12% from January to April 2025 and down 22% in May 2025 compared to May 2024. Also, there have been visa bans to 19 countries as of June 4.
“Scenario modeling based on a potential 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment in the United States this fall could result in a 15% drop in overall enrollment,” NAFSA said.
The University of Connecticut has seen a drop in international students this fall. In data recently released to the Courant, preliminary numbers from the first day of the 2025-26 academic year show an 8% decrease in UConn’s undergraduate international enrollments compared to fall 2024, according to UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz.
“Overall, the preliminary figures show UConn had about 2,650 international students at the undergraduate, graduate and non-degree levels on the first day of classes,” Reitz said.
Numbers may still change. Reitz said, if additional international students arrive on campus in coming days and if any others who are currently enrolled decide to withdraw before official figures are determined.
UConn is not attributing the decrease to any specific factors and added that the enrollment decrease was “more modest than UConn anticipated.” The number of undergraduate students from China and India have decreased, which has been a recent trend. However, there have been increases from other countries, including Vietnam.
“UConn prides itself on being both one of Connecticut’s greatest assets and a global university. We attract outstanding students from our state as well as students, faculty and staff from more than 100 other countries to engage in world-class research and scholarship in Connecticut,” Reitz said.
In all, the number of international students who are first-year freshmen has dropped over the last three years. In 2023 it was 9.2%, in 2024 it was 7.8%, and this year it is 9.2%.
The University of New Haven has seen a dramatic drop in international students.
“The University of New Haven is projected to experience an approximately 85% decrease in incoming international graduate students for the fall of 2025 compared to the fall of 2023,” according to a UNH spokesperson. “Despite this dramatic decline in international enrollment, the University of New Haven has been able to run a sustainable and viable operation attributed, in large part, to significant increases in undergraduate students, transfer students and domestic graduate students, as well as record fundraising, innovative revenue-generating opportunities, and reducing expenses.”
University of New Haven president Dr. Jens Frederiksen, said this impact may be felt across the board.
“You’re going to see significant enrollment challenges on the international front this fall for institutions, and I think it’s going to be really, really challenging for ones that have been heavily reliant on that,” Frederiksen said. “We obviously have been on the graduate student front. I think this is going to be a nationwide theme that you’re going to see just a complete drop off in international students this fall.”
Frederiksen said the U.S has “always benefited from being a global leader and part of that is taking on more talent and preparing them for the global workforce.”
“I think our domestic students benefit tremendously from that kind of global perspective,” Frederiksen said. “America is still viewed across the board collectively as the higher education hub of innovation and success and transformation and obviously that’s been stalled up a little bit by this visa process.”
R.J. McGivney, associate vice president for graduate and professional studies division of student success at the University of Hartford, said the school’s international enrollment is down 50% this fall.
“We typically bring in about 100 international students a year. This year it will probably be closer to 50. We had the same number of applications and deposits, its just students can’t get visas,” McGivney said. “Visa appointments are few and far between. We planned for this. We knew this was coming about five months ago.”
Like the University of New Haven, McGivney said the University of Hartford remains in a good spot because of “good domestic numbers that should offset the loss of international students.”
“However, these students bring so much to our classrooms. We are continuing to try to recruit,” he added. “We saw this is a little bit last year when visa appointments started to slow in the previous (presidential) administration. Part of the backdrop is that the students still want to come to the U.S., but families are concerned and rightfully so seeing students getting deported. It’s been a challenge.”
McGivney said none of the school’s students have been deported and that the school offered international students the chance to stay on campus during the summer with concerns of not being able to get back into the country.
At Trinity College, all of its international students are undergraduates. The college is not expecting much of an impact. Matt Hyde, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said Trinity has always brought the world to Hartford, noting that the school has 80 countries represented in its student body.
“The college has made a big commitment to international students,” Hyde said. “It’s a significant investment, but it’s one that adds a lot of depth dimension and perspective to the college. We’ve been floating between 12% and 15% international (students) over the last number of years.”
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International students have made up between 12% and 15% of the student population at Trinity College over the last couple of years, according to school officials. (Courant file photo)
Hyde said colleges like Trinity really benefit from adding a global perspective.
“There’s no doubt about it, where as students come from across the country, international students have a much bigger sense of the world and how huge it is and how much they have to look forward to learning all about it,” he said. “It’s nice having a strong international population that is beautifully supported, that is empowered to share their sort of their experiences as they live and learn and grow in Hartford.”
Hyde said there was some concern there would be fewer international students due to the visa interview freeze, however, by mid-July and into August, the majority of the international students at Trinity had visas in hand.
“We do have a number of international students on campus regardless of what’s spinning geopolitically. But I think that there was an uptick in the number of international students on campus this summer but not in a dramatic fashion,” Hyde said.