PNW’s international enrollment has dropped by 12% thanks to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns.
“We will be deferring more applications than usual to future intakes to help allow students more time to get a visa so they can join us,” said Ryan Hayes, director of International Admissions and Immigration Services.
The university Fact Book reports that 510 international students are enrolled this semester, down from 581 last fall.
Nationwide, the number of new international students attending U.S. universities is projected to drop by up to 150,000 according to an analysis by NAFSA, the association of international educators.
The drop follows a new federal crackdown on F-1 visas used by foreign students, a slowdown of the visa application process and the banning of residents from 19 countries.
“This has been a challenge for not only PNW, but for all of higher education in the USA who have international students,” Hayes states. “PNW has done a wonderful job minimizing the impact of visa challenges.”
For international students who are already here, the federal immigration crackdowns are posing other challenges too. Many employers are not interested in hiring them.
“Employers are kind of unsure how to move forward,” said Joelyn Stephen, director of Career Services. “It’s always been a struggle for employers to hire international students, and I think a large part of that has to do with not understanding the whole processes.
“I have seen an uptick [in employers showing less interest with international students] with everything going on right now with this administration,” she said.
Students are feeling the pressure.
“I did not have an issue with my visa, but during [my] summer internship, my promised fellowship was deducted,” said Hyobeen Kim, a junior statistics major from South Korea. “Five or six days before the internship, I was informed that I was not able to participate due to my status as an international student after the [federal] administration changed and a lot of restrictions were imposed on international students.
“Eventually, the employer got me into the program with his office money,” he said. “I was promised $7,000 as a fellowship, but due to my international student status, I got around $2,500 instead.”
Despite the challenges, the career center is still working to make sure that international students find success in the US.
“We just really try to instill hope,” said Stephen. “I like telling students that it is not impossible. While it is very difficult, it is possible.”
