F-1 visa mess: Fall classes start but thousands still without visas

US universities have started classes, but thousands of foreign students are still stuck without visa slots, risking tuition and housing losses

The fall session has begun. Across the United States, universities are holding orientation programmes and welcoming their new cohorts. Yet, for thousands of foreign students, the academic year is off to a frustrating start — they are still stuck in their home countries, waiting for US visa appointment slots that never seem to open.

 

Offer letters in hand, tuition paid, flights booked — but the coveted F-1 visa remains out of reach.

 

Universities feel the pinch as visa backlog grows

 

At Arizona State University (ASU), around 1,000 incoming international students are still waiting for their visas. “The hit to the school’s budget would be in the tens of millions of dollars,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement.

 

Furman University in South Carolina is also bracing for lower enrolments this fall. The university is anticipating 562 first-time freshmen, down from 613 last year. A “significant drop in international student enrolment” due to visa delays has been cited as a key reason in official bond documents.

 

Other institutions are scrambling to offer alternatives. Some are allowing students to begin their semester at partner institutions abroad, including in London, or start online until they can reach the US.

 

Students face mounting costs and uncertainty

 

“Right now, even though the US finally started releasing visa appointments again, it’s honestly a mess. Slots open at random times, and they’re gone in seconds,” Kajal Dave, co-founder of LaunchEd told Business Standard.

 

She pointed out the financial toll on families. “We’re talking about ₹10–30 lakh in tuition, another lakh or two for housing deposits, and at least ₹75,000 on flights. If they can’t make it on time and the college won’t let them defer, that’s potentially ₹12–35 lakh down the drain,” she said.

 

Mamta Shekhawat, founder of Gradding.com, told Business Standard the situation is affecting students across India. “Slots are either booked in seconds or unavailable. This is not just a few isolated cases. It’s affecting students regardless of their location or the university they plan to attend,” she said.

 

Colleges warn of enrolment dips as delays persist

 

At Cornell University, around a quarter of the student body is international. Wendy Wolford, vice provost for international affairs, expressed concerns over the situation. “We’re concerned about students facing difficulty securing their visas in a timely fashion,” she tod Bloomberg.

 

Preliminary forecasts from NAFSA: Association of International Educators and JB International predict a 30% drop in first-time foreign student enrolments this fall. Shorelight, an international education organisation, estimates this would result in a $2.6 billion decline in tuition revenue across US campuses.

 

One official at a highly selective private university told Bloomberg that since June, seven times as many Chinese students have received visas compared to Indian students. The official, who requested anonymity due to the political climate, noted that this slowdown is unprecedented.

 

Families explore other countries as backup

 

Bloomberg reported that a family in New Delhi, who had been preparing their daughter for Indiana University Bloomington, faced a visa rejection under Section 214(b) — the consular officer wasn’t convinced she would return to India. Their fallback plan now is the University of Edinburgh in the UK, unless a US visa comes through.

 

“The experience has been a nightmare,” the mother told Bloomberg, requesting anonymity as they still hope to reapply.

 

Trump administration’s pause deepens the crisis

 

The Trump administration paused student visa interviews in late May, shortly after colleges’ commitment deadlines. Though interviews resumed on June 18, the process became more complicated with additional checks, including scrutiny of applicants’ social media profiles.

 

By the end of July, several small colleges were reporting that up to 10 students still hadn’t secured their visas — a sharp increase compared to the usual one or two. Some students have now withdrawn and opted for universities in the UK or Asia.

 

On June 30, the US embassy in India updated its website, saying that “additional or new appointments for student or exchange visitor visa applications will be extremely limited until further notice.”

 

Universities offer contingency options

 

US universities are, howoever, supporting students who are yet to get visas. For instance, ASU, which hosts nearly 18,000 international students, has rolled out multiple options for those unable to reach campus. These include enrolling in partner institutions through the Cintana Network, beginning online with an option to arrive later in the semester, or deferring to spring 2026.

 

Students can also access free Career Catalyst courses while waiting for their visa appointments. By mid-July, 327 students had taken these courses, valued at over $100,000.

 

Kent Hill, principal research economist at ASU’s Seidman Research Institute, detailed the financial importance of international students. “Our international students pay a lot of tuition, which in turn helps ASU pay its faculty and staff and pay for all kinds of other operating expenses, from classroom and laboratory equipment to landscaping services and electric power,” he said.

 

In the 2023–24 academic year, ASU’s 12,403 international students contributed $360 million in tuition, covering 12% of the university’s operating expenses. Hill’s analysis pegged the total economic impact at $467 million in Arizona’s GDP and 4,557 jobs.

 

Beyond tuition, international students’ spending on housing, food, entertainment, and daily living also feeds into the local economy, making their absence felt far beyond university campuses.