- F-1 visas for Indian students fell in 2025.
- 363,019 Indian students enrolled in the U.S. in 2024-25.
- Indians made up 143,740 OPT participants.
"Foreign students, often with no nefarious intent in their plan of study in the United States, are later co-opted to work for their government," former Trump administration Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Edward Ramotowski said in 2018, according to the report.
India and China together accounted for more than half of all international students at U.S. colleges in 2024-25. India had 363,019 students and China had 265,919, making up 53 percent of the total 1.17 million foreign students. F-1 visas issued to Chinese students also fell to 40,034 during the May-August 2025 period.
The report highlighted the Optional Practical Training program, which allows international graduates to work in the U.S. after completing their studies. During 2024-25, 294,253 foreign students worked under OPT, with Indian and Chinese nationals accounting for nearly 70 percent.
The CIS report said fewer Indian and Chinese students could reduce the number of graduates entering OPT and affect the supply of skilled foreign workers in the U.S., especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields.
Indian citizens accounted for 143,740 OPT participants. They represented a large share of STEM OPT participants, with 79,331 Indians among the 165,524 foreign students approved for STEM OPT in 2024.
The report also examined the link between OPT and the H-1B visa program. It said 505,590 foreign nationals were working under OPT in 2024, compared with the H-1B program’s annual limit of 65,000 visas.
The U.S. added 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas for fiscal year 2026, doubling the number of seasonal worker visas available this year.
