Chinese students looking for new destinations amid Trump's visa crackdowns

Many students in the US, including Indians, face challenges as Trump's tighter visa scrutiny creates growing uncertainty for international students in the country

In a shift from past trends, many Chinese students are now reconsidering the US as their top destination for higher education. This change follows the Trump administration’s visa crackdown, casting uncertainty over their dreams of studying in the US.

 

Anqi Dong, a 30-year-old lawyer from Shanghai, wanted to pursue a PhD programme from the University of Texas in Dallas. But now, he is thinking of pursuing it in countries other than the US. 

 

“Everything is looking just too uncertain right now in America,” she said. “I’m now considering programmes in Finland and Norway, which I never actually thought about before. These are rich and stable places,” Dong said, as quoted by Bloomberg.  

 

This is not just Dong’s story. Many students, including those from India, are facing the similar challenges, as US President Donald Trump’s tightened scrutiny on issuing international visas has made things uncertain in the US.

 

Why is Trump cracking down on Chinese students?

 

The US officials claimed the recent tightening of scrutiny on Chinese international students is primarily due to national security concerns and rising geopolitical tensions with China. 

 

US officials further alleged that some Chinese students — especially those in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields — could be involved in intellectual property theft or espionage on behalf of the Chinese government. 

 

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both emphasised the risk posed by students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

 

Revoking visas for Communist Party affiliates 

 

Earlier this week, Rubio announced that student visas would be “aggressively” revoked for individuals with links to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying in sensitive academic fields. New applicants from China and Hong Kong will also be subjected to intensified scrutiny. 

 

The Bloomberg report mentioned the sweeping nature of these actions — especially the broad definition of Communist Party ties — has sent shockwaves through Chinese academic circles. With around 100 million formal party members and far more indirectly connected, the net being cast is wide.

 

Crackdown shakes Chinese academia in the US

 

Zhou Huiying, founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Lideyouwei Education Technology, says the impact is already showing. “At least 30 per cent of my clients have either cancelled plans to study in the US or are applying to schools in places like Australia, the UK and Singapore as backups,” she said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

 

“Some families, where the parents are Communist Party members working for the government, are pretty concerned and now abandoning the US as an option,” Huiying added. 

 

Confusion among Chinese students

 

The confusion among students is exacerbated by a broader anti-China stance seen in Trump’s second term, including a pledge to ban international students from top institutions, like Harvard. Interviews for student visas have also been abruptly halted at US embassies worldwide. 

 

Fangzhou Jiang, a student at Harvard Kennedy School and co-founder of college consulting firm Crimson Education, said, “I’m still cautious because, number one, I tick both boxes at the moment, right? Both Chinese and Harvard,” he said. “I’ve got some big targets on my back. So I don’t want to be blindly optimistic.”

 

According to news reports, education consultants across China have seen a spike in applications to countries like Canada, Australia, and European nations that offer high-quality programmes with fewer political hurdles.

 

China is second largest international students source to US

 

Even as the US remains home to hundreds of thousands of Chinese students — the second-largest international student population after India — enrollment has started to slip. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Chinese student numbers dropped by 4 per cent, with many citing political and visa-related concerns.

 

[With inputs from Bloomberg]