A Burning Concern

Tighter immigration policies in the US and other nations threaten Indian students' aspirations. Rising costs, stricter visa norms, and geopolitical turmoil jeopardize global education dreams, urging India to rethink its higher education strategy

- KDP RAO

The anti-immigration policies of the new dispensation in the US seem to spoil the 'American dream' of hundreds of thousands of migrating students. High rates of denials of H-1B visas as witnessed during President Trump's first term, may resurface making migration extremely difficult. Besides, it is also feared that restrictive changes in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension for STEM graduates (the main post-graduation work opportunity), and shortening of visa duration (F-1 visa) as opposed to "duration of status" policy (i.e., stay as long as one needs to in the status of a student), may ruin career prospects of the migrant students.

Currently, according to the Open Doors Report, out of around 270,000 Indian students in the US only about 69,000 are enrolled in OPT.

Data from MEA shows that migration of Indian students to various countries has been on the rise; in 2022 when it was 7.5 lakhs, it rose to 9.3 lakhs in 2023 and 13.3 lakhs in 2024. Out of 101 countries where Indian students are currently pursuing higher education, Canada seems to be the much sought-after destination with 427,000 Indian students followed by the US with 337,630, UK with 185,000, Australia with 122,202, Germany with 42,997, UAE with 25,000, and Russia with 24,940.