Student Visa Revocation in the US 2026
The student visa revocation landscape in the United States shifted dramatically through 2025 and into 2026, marking one of the most turbulent periods in the history of international student immigration. Beginning in mid-March 2025, the Trump administration initiated an unprecedented enforcement campaign that resulted in thousands of F-1 and J-1 visa terminations, mass SEVIS record cancellations, and sweeping travel restrictions targeting students from dozens of countries. What started as targeted enforcement actions quickly snowballed into a nationwide crisis that touched students at more than 280 colleges and universities, from community colleges to elite research institutions like Harvard, Stanford, and Ohio State University. The legal system became a battleground, with over 50 temporary restraining orders (TROs) filed across 16 federal districts, as students and advocacy organizations fought back against what courts and immigration lawyers widely described as arbitrary and due-process-violating revocations.
By February 2026, the ripple effects of those enforcement actions — combined with a 22% drop in F-1 visa issuances in May 2025, a month-long suspension of new visa interview appointments, and travel bans covering more than 30 countries — had fundamentally reshaped how international students view the United States as a study destination. Interest in US postgraduate education plunged 40% since January 2025, according to NAFSA surveys, with Germany, France, and China emerging as preferred alternatives. International students contributed nearly $43 billion to the US economy and supported over 355,700 jobs in academic year 2024–2025 alone, making the stakes of these enforcement actions enormous not just for students, but for American universities, local economies, and the nation’s global research leadership. The statistics and facts compiled in this article draw exclusively from US government data sources — including ICE SEVP, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the US Department of State — alongside verified reports from NAFSA, AILA, and official court filings.
Key Facts: Student Visa Revocation in the US 2026
| Fact | Data / Detail |
|---|---|
| SEVIS records terminated (peak, 2025) | Over 4,700 international student records terminated by ICE |
| Student visas revoked (confirmed) | Over 1,600 F-1 student visas revoked by the State Department |
| Universities affected | Students at more than 280 colleges and universities impacted |
| NAFSA reported terminations (as of May 7, 2025) | More than 1,600 confirmed reports (voluntary reporting only) |
| ICE database search scope | Names of 1.3 million foreign-born students run through NCIC |
| Temporary restraining orders filed | Over 50 TROs across 16 federal districts |
| Lawsuits tracked by Inside Higher Ed | At least 28 lawsuits representing 178 students (as of April 25, 2025) |
| Total active SEVIS records (CY 2024) | 1,582,808 active F-1 and M-1 student records (ICE SEVP Annual Report) |
| International students enrolled (Oct 2025) | 1.16 million enrolled in Associates, Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate programs |
| F-1 visa issuance drop (Jan–May 2025 vs 2024) | Down 14.7% to 88,753 F-1 visas issued in H1 FY2025 |
| F-1 visa drop in May 2025 alone | 22% fewer F-1 visas compared to May 2024 (12,689 fewer visas) |
| J-1 visa drop in May 2025 | 13% decline year-over-year |
| Drop in F-1 visas to Indian students (H1 FY2025) | 44% decline year-over-year (from ~26,000 to ~14,700) |
| Drop in F-1 visas to Chinese students (H1 FY2025) | 24% decline year-over-year |
| Interest in US postgraduate education decline | 40% drop since January 2025 (NAFSA survey) |
| US postgrad interest decline (NAFSA) | 40% fall, with Germany, France, and China gaining favor |
| International student economic contribution (AY 2024–25) | Nearly $43 billion to the US economy, supporting 355,700+ jobs |
| NAFSA estimated revenue decline (Fall 2025) | $1.1 billion decline in international student-related revenue |
| Potential job losses if 30–40% enrollment drop | 60,000+ jobs lost and $7 billion in lost revenue projected |
| Harvard international students (2024–25 academic year) | 6,793 international students = 27.3% of Harvard’s total student body |
| Harvard SEVP certification revoked | May 22, 2025, by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (blocked by federal court May 23) |
| Countries targeted by travel bans (June 2025) | 19 countries under June 4, 2025 executive order; 30+ countries under combined proclamations by December 2025 |
| SEVIS data growth CY 2024 vs CY 2023 | Total SEVIS records grew 5.3% from 2023 to 2024 |
| Overall SEVIS growth (2019–2024) | 26% growth over five years to historic high of 1,294,231 students (September 2024 corrected data) |
| Indian students at US universities (2023–24) | Over 330,000 students, India being the largest source country |
| Chinese students at US universities (2023–24) | Approximately 275,000 students |
Data sources: ICE SEVP 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers Report (ice.gov); US Department of State Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (travel.state.gov); NAFSA: Association of International Educators; National Immigration Forum; American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA); Inside Higher Ed tracking database; Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration (November 2025 SEVIS data release); Harvard University official statements and court filings.
The numbers laid out in this table tell a story that is both sweeping in scale and deeply personal in impact. The termination of over 4,700 SEVIS records in a matter of weeks — affecting students at institutions ranging from community colleges to Harvard — represents the largest mass disruption to international student legal status in modern US history. What makes these figures especially striking is the method used to identify students: ICE ran the names of 1.3 million foreign-born students through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a database that immigration lawyers and courts widely noted is incomplete and often lacks final case dispositions. This means many students were flagged — and had their visa status terminated — based on law enforcement encounters that never resulted in charges or convictions. The 28 lawsuits filed just in the initial weeks, representing at least 178 students, underscore how rapidly affected students pursued legal relief, and the 50+ TROs granted across the country reflect the judiciary’s serious concerns about due process violations.
The economic and enrollment consequences of these enforcement actions are equally stark. A 22% single-month drop in F-1 visa issuances in May 2025 — compounding a 14.7% decline already recorded in H1 FY2025 — signals that the enforcement wave did not just harm students already inside the US; it actively deterred prospective students abroad from applying. The 40% collapse in interest in US postgraduate education recorded by NAFSA surveys since January 2025 is perhaps the most alarming long-term signal, as it reflects a sentiment shift among the very pool of high-achieving international students that US universities depend upon for research output, tuition revenue, and global competitiveness. With international students contributing nearly $43 billion annually to the US economy and supporting 355,700 jobs, the projected $7 billion in lost revenue and 60,000+ job losses under a 30–40% enrollment decline scenario represent a serious national economic concern, not just an immigration policy debate.
Total SEVIS Records and International Student Enrollment in the US 2026
| Metric | CY 2022 | CY 2023 | CY 2024 | Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Active F-1 & M-1 SEVIS Records | ~1,237,000 | ~1,503,000 | 1,582,808 | ~1,160,000 (degree programs only) |
| Year-over-Year Growth Rate | — | +10.4% | +5.3% | Slight decline noted |
| International Students in Degree Programs | — | — | 1.16 million+ | 1.16 million (Presidents’ Alliance) |
| STEM OPT Participants (CY 2024) | — | — | 165,524 (India 20.4%, China 20.4%) | — |
| Corrected Enrollment (Sep 2024, DHS updated) | — | — | 1,294,231 | — |
| NAFSA Economic Contribution | ~$39 billion | ~$40 billion | ~$43 billion | Declining projected |
Data source: ICE SEVP 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers Report (ice.gov/sevis); DHS SEVIS Data Mapping Tool (studyinthestates.dhs.gov); Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration SEVIS analysis, November 2025.
The SEVIS enrollment data paints a nuanced picture of the international student landscape in the United States. Through calendar year 2024, total active F-1 and M-1 student records grew to a record 1,582,808, reflecting the US’s continued appeal as the world’s top higher education destination. However, the growth rate decelerated markedly — from 10.4% in 2022–2023 down to 5.3% in 2023–2024 — signaling softening demand even before the enforcement wave of 2025. It is worth noting that DHS faced a significant data credibility crisis in 2025: an erroneous April dataset that suggested an 11% decline in enrollment was later corrected in July 2025, restoring the picture to one of steady growth through September 2024. The corrected DHS figure of 1,294,231 students as of September 2024 — representing a 26% increase over five years — establishes the baseline from which 2025 enforcement disruptions should be measured.
By October 2025, however, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration reported that only 1.16 million students were enrolled in formal degree programs — a figure that masked a more troubling trend of declining new student enrollment. The NAFSA analysis released in November 2025 confirmed that $1.1 billion in international-student-related revenue had already been lost in Fall 2025, and that nearly 23,000 fewer jobs had been created compared to the prior year. These numbers make clear that the peak SEVIS enrollment of late 2024 was not sustained into 2025–2026, and that the enforcement actions, visa processing disruptions, and travel bans combined to produce a measurable contraction in the international student population — a contraction whose full extent will only become clear once annual enrollment data for the 2025–2026 academic year is finalized.
F-1 Student Visa Issuance Data in the US 2026
| Period / Country | F-1 Visas Issued | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|---|---|
| Full FY2024 (all countries) | 401,007 | Moderate growth vs 2023 |
| H1 FY2025 (all countries, Oct 2024–Mar 2025) | 88,753 | −14.7% vs H1 FY2024 |
| May 2025 (all countries) | ~44,000 (est.) | −22% vs May 2024 (12,689 fewer) |
| India — Full FY2024 | 86,000 | Slight increase vs FY2021 (~80,000) |
| India — H1 FY2025 | ~14,700 | −44% vs H1 FY2024 (~26,000) |
| China — Full FY2024 | 83,000 | Stable (~80,000 range) |
| China — H1 FY2025 | ~11,000 | −24% vs H1 FY2024 |
| Vietnam — H1 FY2025 | 5,324 | +19.6% vs H1 FY2024 |
| Bangladesh — H1 FY2025 | 2,098 | +20.1% vs prior year |
| Pakistan — H1 FY2025 | 1,928 | +44.3% vs prior year |
| J-1 Exchange Visas — May 2025 | — | −13% vs May 2024 |
| Iran — May 2025 | ~90 | −65% vs May 2024 (~250) |
| Myanmar — May 2025 | — | −64.5% vs prior period |
Data source: US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (travel.state.gov); ApplyBoard H1 FY2025 analysis; NAFSA Fall 2025 International Student Enrollment Outlook (August 8, 2025).
The F-1 student visa issuance statistics for 2025 reflect one of the sharpest single-year contractions on record. The full FY2024 figure of 401,007 F-1 visas issued represented a high-water mark that the US failed to sustain into 2025. By the first half of FY2025 alone, only 88,753 F-1 visas had been issued — a 14.7% decline that predated the most severe enforcement actions. The 22% single-month collapse in May 2025 was particularly damaging because May through August represents the peak issuance season, when the lion’s share of student visas are issued for fall semester enrollment. Compounding the numbers decline, the State Department paused new student visa interview appointments between May 27 and June 18, 2025, creating a bottleneck whose full impact may not be fully quantified until the complete FY2025 dataset is published.
Country-level data reveals stark disparities in how different student populations were affected. Indian students saw the most dramatic contraction — 44% fewer F-1 visas issued in H1 FY2025 compared to the same period in H1 FY2024 — a decline that mirrors falling Indian student visa numbers across Australia and Canada as well, suggesting broader structural shifts in where Indian students are choosing to study. Chinese students experienced a 24% decline, but also faced the threat of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “aggressive” revocation of existing Chinese student visas, particularly those in sensitive STEM fields. By contrast, Vietnam (+19.6%), Bangladesh (+20.1%), and Pakistan (+44.3%) all posted gains, reflecting a gradual diversification of the US international student pipeline away from the historically dominant India-China duopoly, which accounted for 42% of new F-1 visas in FY2024 — down from 49% the previous year.
SEVIS Terminations and Visa Revocations: Timeline in the US 2025–2026
| Date / Period | Key Action | Scale / Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-March 2025 | ICE begins mass SEVIS record terminations via NCIC database sweep | 1.3 million student names screened |
| April 7, 2025 | AP reports 1,024+ students at 160+ institutions affected | At least 1,024 confirmed cases at time of reporting |
| April 10, 2025 | NAFSA releases initial analysis | 800+ confirmed reports (voluntary, undercount) |
| April 17, 2025 | NAFSA updated count | More than 1,600 confirmed reports |
| April 21–25, 2025 | Peak SEVIS terminations; estimated 4,700–5,000 records affected | ~5,000 records terminated at peak |
| April 25, 2025 | DOJ announces SEVIS records to be restored; ICE begins reinstatements | All terminated records reinstated temporarily |
| April 28, 2025 | New ICE SEVP policy memo circulated; visa revocation alone now grounds for SEVIS termination | Vastly expanded ICE authority per legal experts |
| May 7, 2025 | National Immigration Forum: 4,700+ SEVIS terminations confirmed | Over 4,700 total SEVIS terminations |
| May 22, 2025 | DHS revokes Harvard’s SEVP certification | 6,793 Harvard international students at risk |
| May 23, 2025 | Federal court issues TRO blocking Harvard SEVP revocation | Harvard F-1 / J-1 programs preserved |
| May 27–June 18, 2025 | State Dept suspends new F/M/J visa interview appointments | Peak processing season disrupted |
| June 4, 2025 | Presidential Proclamation restricts entry for nationals from 19 countries | Covers most F, M, J visa categories |
| June 23, 2025 | Federal court issues preliminary injunction blocking Harvard presidential proclamation | Harvard students protected (litigation ongoing) |
| December 16, 2025 | Second Presidential Proclamation; travel ban expanded to 30+ countries | Effective January 1, 2026 |
| February 2026 | Effects of enforcement wave and visa ban continue to shape Fall 2026 enrollment projections | 40% drop in US postgrad interest; −19% August 2025 arrivals |
Data sources: National Immigration Forum Explainer (June 13, 2025); ICE SEVP Policy Memo (April 28, 2025, via court filing); NAFSA reports (April–August 2025); US Department of Homeland Security; Harvard University official statements and court filings (hio.harvard.edu); Inside Higher Ed tracking database; US District Court (Massachusetts) rulings.
The timeline of student visa revocations and SEVIS terminations in 2025 unfolded with extraordinary speed. In the span of roughly six weeks — mid-March through late April 2025 — the US government ran 1.3 million student names through a law enforcement database, terminated an estimated 4,700–5,000 SEVIS records, and revoked over 1,600 student visas, all largely without prior notice or clear legal justification. Courts across the country responded swiftly: over 50 temporary restraining orders were granted in 16 federal districts, and in multiple rulings, judges expressed serious doubt about the government’s legal authority and its refusal to disclose the specific basis for individual revocations. The ICE policy memo of April 28, 2025 — which established visa revocation alone as sufficient grounds for SEVIS termination — was widely condemned by immigration attorneys as a dramatic and legally questionable expansion of government authority, one that effectively eliminated due process protections that had been in place for decades.
The Harvard SEVP revocation of May 22, 2025 marked a turning point in the enforcement wave, signaling that the administration was willing to target not just individual students but entire institutional programs. With 6,793 international students enrolled at Harvard during the 2024–2025 academic year — representing 27.3% of the student body — the attempted revocation would have had immediate consequences for thousands of students mid-enrollment. The subsequent escalation to a Presidential Proclamation on June 4, 2025 restricting entry for nationals from 19 countries, followed by a second proclamation in December 2025 expanding the ban to 30+ countries effective January 1, 2026, created a cumulative enforcement environment that students, universities, and foreign governments characterized as the most restrictive international student policy landscape in modern US history.
Economic Impact of Student Visa Revocations in the US 2026
| Economic Metric | Value / Data Point | Source / Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total international student economic contribution (AY 2024–25) | ~$43 billion | NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool |
| US jobs supported by international students (AY 2024–25) | 355,700+ jobs | NAFSA (every 3 students = 1 US job created) |
| Revenue decline from enforcement actions (Fall 2025) | $1.1 billion lost | NAFSA Fall 2025 Updated Report, November 2025 |
| Job loss tied to Fall 2025 enrollment decline | ~23,000 fewer jobs created | NAFSA November 2025 updated analysis |
| Projected revenue loss (30–40% enrollment drop scenario) | ~$7 billion in lost revenue | NAFSA Fall 2025 Enrollment Outlook (August 8, 2025) |
| Projected job losses (30–40% enrollment drop scenario) | 60,000+ jobs | NAFSA Fall 2025 Enrollment Outlook |
| Countries threatened by visa bans (economic at risk) | 19 countries under June 4 executive order | NAFSA: $3 billion in annual contributions + 25,000 jobs at risk |
| Harvard international student tuition contribution | Part of ~$1.4 billion in student-related income (FY2024) | Harvard University financial disclosures |
| US postgraduate education interest decline | 40% since January 2025 | NAFSA survey data |
| August 2025 student arrivals vs 2024 | −19% year-over-year | Higher education tracking data (August 2025) |
| Indian student arrivals, August 2025 | −45% vs August 2024 | Higher education tracking data |
| African student arrivals, August 2025 | −33% vs August 2024 | Higher education tracking data |
| Chinese student arrivals, August 2025 | −12% vs August 2024 | Higher education tracking data |
Data sources: NAFSA: Association of International Educators International Student Economic Value Tool; NAFSA Fall 2025 International Student Enrollment Outlook (August 8 and November 2025); Harvard University FY2024 financial disclosures; Inside Higher Ed monitoring reports (April–September 2025); Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
The economic data surrounding student visa revocations in 2025–2026 transforms what might appear to be an immigration enforcement question into a pressing national economic concern. International students are not passive recipients of US educational services — they are active contributors to the American economy. NAFSA’s widely cited figure that every three international students support one US job puts the human cost of declining enrollment into immediate perspective: the 23,000 fewer jobs already lost in Fall 2025, and the projected 60,000+ jobs at risk under a deeper enrollment decline scenario, represent real livelihoods in university towns, local businesses, and the broader higher education supply chain. The $1.1 billion in already-realized revenue losses in Fall 2025 is striking precisely because it represents just one semester’s impact — and the cumulative long-term effects, if enrollment does not recover, could be far greater.
The country-specific August 2025 arrival data tells the human story behind the aggregate numbers. Indian student arrivals fell 45%, African students fell 33%, and even Chinese student arrivals declined 12% — declines that, taken together, produced a 19% overall drop in August 2025 student arrivals compared to August 2024. August is a critical month because it captures the cohort of incoming students preparing for Fall semester, making it one of the most reliable real-time indicators of enrollment trends. That data, combined with a 40% decline in US postgraduate education interest measured by NAFSA surveys, strongly suggests that the enforcement actions and visa processing disruptions of 2025 have caused lasting reputational damage to the United States as an international education destination — damage that may take years to reverse, even if enforcement policies are moderated in 2026 and beyond.
States With Highest International Student Populations in the US 2026
| State | Rank (CY 2024) | Estimated International Students | Notable Institutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1st | Largest in the US | UC system, Stanford, USC |
| New York | 2nd | Second largest | Columbia, NYU, Cornell |
| Texas | 3rd | Third largest | UT Austin, Texas A&M |
| Massachusetts | 4th | Significant cluster | MIT, Harvard, Boston University |
| Florida | 5th | Growing population | University of Florida, UCF |
| Illinois | 6th | Major hub | University of Chicago, Northwestern |
| Pennsylvania | 7th | Substantial population | Penn State, University of Pennsylvania |
| Ohio | 8th | Large public institutions | Ohio State, Case Western |
| Michigan | 9th | Research-focused | University of Michigan |
| New Jersey | 10th | Proximity to NYC | Rutgers, Princeton |
Data source: ICE SEVP 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers Report — “Top 10 States for Foreign Students in Calendar Year 2024” (ice.gov); Note: Exact state-level counts for CY 2024 are available in the full ICE SEVP annual report.
The geographic distribution of international students across the United States reflects the concentration of major research universities and STEM-focused programs in a handful of states. California consistently ranks first by total international student population, driven by the massive University of California system, Stanford, and the University of Southern California — all of which attract large numbers of students from India, China, and South Korea. New York and Texas round out the top three, with their large flagship university systems and major metropolitan areas serving as magnets for international talent. This concentration has a practical implication for enforcement: states like California, Illinois, and New York — which announced resistance to certain federal immigration directives in 2025 — are simultaneously the states whose economies are most directly exposed to international student enrollment declines, giving state governments a powerful fiscal incentive to challenge restrictive federal policies.
The top-ten state list also reveals where enforcement-related enrollment declines will have the most concentrated economic impact. Massachusetts, home to Harvard and MIT, was at the center of the 2025 enforcement drama — the Harvard SEVP revocation attempt and subsequent court battles played out against a backdrop of 6,793 international students enrolled at Harvard alone. Michigan and Ohio both appeared in early Inside Higher Ed tracking data as states where SEVIS terminations were actively occurring, with lawsuits filed on behalf of students at the University of Michigan and Ohio State. Given that the top 10 states collectively host the vast majority of the 1.16 million international students enrolled in US degree programs as of October 2025, enforcement and visa policy decisions concentrated in those states have an outsized effect on the national enrollment statistics that define the overall student visa revocation landscape in the US in 2026.
Top Countries Sending Students to the US 2026
| Country of Origin | US Students (AY 2023–24) | F-1 Visas FY2024 | F-1 H1 FY2025 | Change H1 FY25 vs H1 FY24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 330,000+ | 86,000 | ~14,700 | −44% |
| China | ~275,000 | 83,000 | ~11,000 | −24% |
| South Korea | Top 5 source | Significant | — | Moderate decline |
| Canada | Top 10 source | Stable | — | Stable |
| Vietnam | Growing | Rising | 5,324 | +19.6% |
| Bangladesh | Growing | Rising | 2,098 | +20.1% |
| Pakistan | Growing | Rising | 1,928 | +44.3% |
| Iran | Historically significant | ~250 (May 2024) | ~90 (May 2025) | −65% |
| Myanmar | Present | — | — | −64.5% (May 2025) |
| Venezuela | Present | — | — | −46% (May 2025) |
Data sources: IIE Open Doors 2024 Report (co-published by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs); US Department of State Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (travel.state.gov); ApplyBoard H1 FY2025 US student visa analysis.
The country-of-origin data for US international student visa issuances through 2025 and into 2026 reveals a structural shift underway in global student mobility. For years, India and China have dominated the US international student pipeline, collectively accounting for the largest source of F-1 visa recipients and nearly half of all new international student enrollments. In FY2024, India received 86,000 F-1 visas and China 83,000 — figures that placed them in a near-tie as the top two source countries. However, H1 FY2025 data shows both have contracted sharply: India by 44% and China by 24%. These declines are not solely attributable to US enforcement policy — parallel drops in Canadian and Australian student visa issuances to Indian students suggest a broader structural demand shift — but the severity and speed of the contraction in the US context is particularly notable given that Indian students were the largest incoming international student population for the 2023–2024 academic year.
The counter-narrative lies in the growth stories. Vietnam (+19.6%), Bangladesh (+20.1%), and Pakistan (+44.3%) all posted strong gains in H1 FY2025, while countries like Zimbabwe posted 162% increases — reflecting a diversification of US international student sources that pre-dates the 2025 enforcement wave and may continue even as top-source markets contract. However, the countries hit hardest by the travel bans — Iran (−65%), Myanmar (−64.5%), and Venezuela (−46%) in May 2025 alone — also happen to be nations that were subsequently added to the June 2025 travel restrictions list, creating a feedback loop where declining visa numbers preceded formal policy exclusion. By February 2026, the combination of enforcement actions, visa processing disruptions, travel bans, and reputational damage has produced the most complex and restrictive international student visa environment in US history, with consequences that universities, economists, and policymakers are only beginning to fully measure.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
