Welcome to Dale's Digest, a curated newsletter from Foreign Credentials Service of America (FCSA). Below are a collection of articles from reliable sources regarding news and trends in international enrollment.
The issuance of F-1 student visas dropped sharply last year, as the chart below shows. The number awarded in the key months of May to August plummeted by 36 percent in 2025, according to a Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of State data released last week.
The drop was bigger than had been understood. A preliminary survey of colleges last fall reported a 17-percent decrease in new international-student enrollments. There’s been a lag in State Department data: Figures on nonimmigrant visa issuances were usually released monthly, but, until Friday, had not been posted since last spring.
It was sparked by a student-visa interview scheduling freeze that the State Department abruptly imposed last May. Visa issuances rebounded in some countries, but not others, after the hold was lifted. The decline may also signal weakening global interest in studying in the United States in the wake of actions by the Trump administration.
The bigger picture: Many colleges depend upon international enrollment to meet the bottom line. These data suggest that the strategy has left them even more vulnerable than it seemed.
The Middle East conflict disrupts
The escalating military conflict in the Middle East continues to roil the international higher education sector, forcing university closures and stranding students. Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have all ordered universities to close or shift to remote learning following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliatory attacks across the Gulf. Reporting from news outlets captures the breadth of challenges now facing the field:
Times Higher Education examines whether the conflict could slow branch campus expansion plans, with experts noting potential financial and reputational consequences beyond the immediate crisis.
The PIE News speaks with international students in Iran and the UAE as they contend with missile strikes, internet outages, and emergency evacuations.
University World News details the scope of campus closures in the region and what the instability could mean for Gulf states' standing as international higher education destinations.
New Data Show U.S. Study Abroad Is on the Rise
Data pulled from the Institute of International Education's Open Doors report and the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics reveal that the number of U.S. students studying abroad rose by 6 percent in the 2023–24 academic year (the most recent data available). There continue to be issues of underrepresentation in study abroad, even as participation among diverse student populations grows. Visit NAFSA’s "Trends in U.S. Study Abroad" page to see updated participation information by state, host region, and race/ethnicity.
The Foreign Credentials Service of America (FCSA) will be exhibiting at the upcoming AACRAO Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, from April 19-22, 2026. Please visit us at Booth #530 in the Exhibit Hall.
