Home A Record-Breaking 1,582,808 Foreign Students in 2024
A Record-Breaking 1,582,808 Foreign Students in 2024
Huge jump in STEM work authorization
New data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows that there were nearly 1.6 million foreign students in the United Sates in 2024.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released the Student and Exchange Visitor Program 2024 annual report, which provides data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The DHS relies on this web-based system to manage information on foreign students and exchange visitors who “enter the United States temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study or participating in a U.S. Department of State-designated program.”
This year’s report includes more information than was available during the Biden administration. Under Secretary Mayorkas, DHS did not include employer-related data related to the Optional Practical Training (OPT; guestworkers programs for ostensible “students”) or the data on employers under the J-1 visa program, which is administered by the State Department. These details — available during the first Trump administration — were left out under Mayorkas’s watch. Transparency has now returned, which is good news for those who seek to analyze and better understand immigration policies.
https://cis.org/Immigration-Studies/RecordBreaking-1582808-Foreign-Students-2024