Inside the US Student Visa Crisis of 2025
8 Aug 2025 6:25 AM IST
Description: Indian students form 27% of the international student body in the US. The US has some of the world’s best universities, with top resources and faculty. Even though studying there is expensive, many Indian students still aspired to go abroad. They’d apply for education loans and aim to get a high-paying job to pay those back.
But, that could change now. The Trump administration has been deporting students in the US. They also stopped accepting appointments for several weeks, and are now scrutinising the social media accounts of students much more closely. Educational consultants call this year a crisis year for students wanting to study in the US.
In the latest episode of The Signal Daily, we’ll hear from a student and from an educational consultant. What’s the future of an American education for Indians?
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TRANSCRIPT
Kudrat (Host): Y, a 25 year old computer Science graduate from one of the IITs, wanted to deepen his knowledge of AI and robotics. After working in software development for a couple years, he applied to Master’s programs at top engineering colleges in the US. He got into 3 out of the 5 schools he applied to. On the condition of anonymity, he told us that funding wasn’t an issue either – his family was happy to support him.
Y: now the, the tragic incident happened with my Visa.. for the interview
Kudrat (Host): The US embassy rejected Y’s student visa application saying that they found certain social media posts that violated their guidelines. Well, not rejected per se – they said he could reapply for the interview. But, there are no interview appointment slots available until 2027.
Y has a strong resumé and financial backing. He says his interview went well too. But still — no visa. The educational consultants that The Signal Daily spoke to say that it’s unheard of for the US to reject applications like his.
My name is Kudrat Wadhwa and you’re listening to The Signal Daily. We don’t do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends.
In this episode, we’ll learn about what’s changed in the US’s student visa process this year. How are educational consultants and students dealing with these shifts? Will students continue to want to study in the US?
Until now, the US visa process for students has been flawless, according to Adarsh Khandelwal, who founded the educational consultancy Collegify. You apply, receive an acceptance letter, your college gives you an i-20, you apply for a visa. If your documents and finances are in order, and you perform well in your interview, you can be assured that you will get the F-1 visa.
Indian students account for 27% of the total number of international students in the US, according to a report by ICE, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2024, 4.2 lakh Indian students were actively enrolled in the US – that’s an 11.8% increase from 2023.
Adarsh said that Indian students like to study in the US because the country has some of the world's highest-ranked universities, with professors doing cutting-edge research. Though an American education is expensive, several universities offer scholarships. Indian students were so charmed by the ‘American dream’ that they’d even take hefty education loans to pay their fees. Their goal was to study, get a high-paying job, earn in dollars and later pay back those loans.
Even if the process to get the visa was flawless, it’s not like international students in the US had it super easy. For instance, many high-skilled Indian students would opt for the lottery-based H1-B work visa. Some would get lucky, and others would have to scramble to figure out what to do next. Yet, for the most part, Indian students had figured out how to deal with the US immigration machine.
Some even learned to game it to enter the country illegally. In fact, India comes in the top four countries that undocumented immigrants to the US come from. Last year, Bloomberg published an investigation into how multinational IT outsourcing firms game the H-1B system. Several of these IT outsourcing companies are based in India or run by Indians.
Not only the H1-B, even student visa grantees would overstay their visa and stay in the US. The US administration cites these violations as why they’re doubling down on making the student visa process stricter. After all, Trump ran on a pro-nativist and anti-immigrant platform.
The US also says that it’s trying to be selective, they don’t want students who might disagree with them ideologically.
Last year, there was a wave of student protests against Israel, a key American ally.
Right after US President Trump took power in January, he began cracking down on students who had participated. He claims that the Democratic Party has surrendered the US’s campuses to “anarchists, jihadist freaks and anti‑American extremists” and promised that if people came from other countries and brought jihadism, the US would deport them.
And, deport they did. By early August, the US had deported 1700 Indians in 2025, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Most of these were undocumented immigrants, though there were a couple students in the mix who were asked to leave.
They’re also making it much harder for aspiring students to get a visa in the first place.
In late May, the US suspended all new F, M and J visa interview appointments globally—including in India. They said they’re doing so to expand their social media screening requirements.
This happened at a key time, right when students starting college in August would be interviewing for their visas. The embassies reopened appointments on June 18, with a new rule that required applicants to make their social media accounts public. Starting October 1, 2025, visa applicants will have to pay an extra $250 ‘Visa Integrity Fee’ when they apply. The US embassy in Mumbai even put out a statement saying applicants should avoid using third-party agents to book their appointments. They added that the Consulate reserves the right to cancel their appointment if they find false or incorrect information in the application.
Embassies have also been rejecting more applications than usual or asking students to reapply for the interview, as they did with Y, the student we heard from earlier. But, because of the immense backlog, that’s an effective no to going abroad this year.
Adarsh: So first time, uh, you know, we've realized, uh, 2025, the entire delay, the pause of visa, um, especially for the, you know, F1 students, um, and the appointment slots, which has been, you know, completely sporadic. It has caused a lot of uncertainty and confusion among students. It has not happened in the past.
Kudrat (Host): That’s Adarsh Khandelwal, the co-founder of Collegify.
Adarsh: And for the first time, we've seen the highest visa rejection rates. Um, even after a student having a strong academic background, we've seen that, uh, you know, uh, the strong financial background has led to a refusal notice under section 214 B.
Kudrat (Host): The US hasn’t made the latest rejection rate data publicly available yet, but Adarsh says that he’s noticed that 50% of his students are getting rejected. Collegify counsels 250 students in a month. He said that the embassy denies their application citing Section 214B, meaning they think that the student intends to settle down in the US.
Adarsh: Which means that under section 214 B, you don't have an intent of coming back. So for a simple question, when the embassy officer is asking that, what is your post undergraduate study plans now for somebody who's investing, you know, for a Master's $200,000? Um, we'll talk about getting a Google experience, a Facebook experience working, and, you know, these are all very highly skilled, you know, uh, students.
So the moment they talk about any post-work, uh, any experiential, uh, learning or any on hands-on experience, you are immediately, uh, you know, sent, uh, a rejection letter under section 214 B.
Kudrat (Host): And then, there’s the new social media rule. US officials aren’t just taking a cursory look at people’s social media, they’re even checking for posts you might have liked years ago.
Here’s Y, the student we heard from earlier.
Y: Yes, the high, uh, you know, uh, when I asked them about my entire rejection, why it was rejected considering the interview and everything went nice. So they've mentioned that the team has found, uh, you know, something that we felt was violating our whatever rights and, you know, violating our policies and on the basis that we are rejecting your visa.
Kudrat (from clip): Wow. So do you have any idea what those posts were?
Y: Ideally, I, uh, so I don't know. The posts were, uh, you know, about some sort of a protest that was going on a lot, uh, long ago. Right. And I, I might have accidentally while scrolling, like, the particular post, or maybe I did that actually at that time. Not sure.
But then that is a, that is something that they don't want to listen. If you have liked it, they have a proof of it, they'll use it against you.
Kudrat (Host): Adarsh from Collegify called this year a Crisis Year.
Adarsh: this is called Crisis 2025, right where we have seen delays interview, pause, uh, where we've seen new rules being spoken about in between the process. Um, where, where we've seen a tightening, uh, you know, security, social media checks, heavy screening, record, a number of visa rejections.
So this record number of visa rejection has not happened for, you know, for good students. I mean, and we've never witnessed, uh, top quality student, uh, we've never witnessed a rejection for someone with good financial backgrounds and having an intent to study abroad in a top hundred university.
Kudrat (Host): His advice to students who want to study in the US is to do their research and always have a plan B.
Adarsh: So our current stance to the audience who are looking at a broad education is very clear.
Only plan. If you are extremely very, very good, do not think about taking too much, too big a loan because you know, we are not very sure about how the law of the land is evolving in the us. What they will do when it comes to the jobs, um, for students, the H1B sponsorship is also under truck scrutinization.
Uh, so, you know, you have to have a plan A and you have to have a plan B.
Kudrat (Host): That plan could include looking at other countries like the UK, UAE, Ireland or even stay in India and capitalise on India’s educational opportunities and fast growth, Adarsh said. He added that you should only think about studying abroad if you can self-finance at least 60% of your education. The job market abroad, including in the US, isn’t great right now. Some students have had to return and are now struggling to pay their loans on Indian salaries.
For those who are bent on going to the US, Collegify tells students to show their intent of coming back to India.
Kudrat (from clip): and so now what are you advising your students when it comes to these interviews? Are you telling them not to, are you telling them to not say that they wanna get a job at Google or Facebook?
Adarsh: No, we are telling them that be very extremely honest. Talk about your intent of coming back. Talk about the quality of education, which you are going to go for. Talk about the, you know, the kind of, you know, the kind of, uh.
When, you know, the kind of, uh, uh, investments your family may have in India and no reason for you to sort of stay in another country. Uh, and, uh, you know, so we just talk about showing a very strong intent of getting the good experience out of the academics and coming back and, uh, uh, you know, and if they are cross questioning to stand very strongly by what their opinion is.
Kudrat (from clip): Okay. Understood. So, but what if they want to stay in the us? What if their goal is to,
Adarsh: so right now our advice is that you don't show an intent of settling down. Yeah. It happens. It happens naturally. Yeah. At that point of time, the organization, the company will be answerable and responsible for why they are hiring you.
You have to go for quality education, you have to go for getting good grades. You have to go for, you know, skilling up. And that should be the current goal. For migration, this is not the time at all.
Kudrat (Host): Most students who study in the US want to work there afterward. Some to pay off their loans, some to get experience. But, beware, do not mention that in your interview, is the advice that consultants are giving.
This is obviously a weird time. And also daunting, for students. But, Adarsh also tells people to not lose hope. He believes that 2025 is just an aberration.
Adarsh: So this is going through a certain cycle, but in my opinion, US College, the ecosystem, how friendly, the, you know, the, the entire environment is over there. It is very pro student. Uh, the university has a very big skin in the game when it comes to international students at, so for student, for, for, for the community at large.
One has to plan it and plan it with time and patience right now. And, uh, yeah, I think that is, that is all, uh, the, the, the, the story will continue, right? I mean, it's not that us is going to become not a popular choice, it's just a very short, uh, instance right now.
Kudrat (Host): Y, the student we heard from earlier is also hopeful about the future, though of course, he felt disappointed when his application didn’t go through this year. Thankfully, his university has deferred his admission for a year. He says he’ll continue working his job in the meantime.
Y: it, it was really disheartening to be honest, because I was really, really excited about starting the college and, uh, you know, but, uh, this entire experience, I was really looking forward to it.
But ultimately, you know, uh, I, in, you know, in the beginning, uh, it felt like that it's not even my fault. That I'm getting rejected some, uh, you know, crappy social media policies that they have started.
So yeah, I'll be continuing working for the next year because I already had the admin hand and have the option to use it the next year. Obviously, if the same thing happens next year, then I have to rethink the entire strategy.
But for now, I would say that I'll continue with my job and wait and see what happens next year.
Kudrat (Host): For years, Indian students have aspired to study abroad in the US. They’d do so at all costs, including taking on debt. But, the world is changing. The US is no longer as welcoming as it was before.
As that door closes for Indians, some are deciding to stay put, in India. Y is back at work, for now. He’s innovating, upskilling, and contributing right here at home. Some Indian universities like Ashoka University in Sonepat have also extended their timeline, to accept US visa rejectees.
Many still want to go abroad, though. They’re looking elsewhere, to the UK, UAE, Singapore. Whether students go elsewhere or stay in India, one thing is clear. The US is no longer the only gold standard in town.
Kudrat (Host): That's all for today. You just heard The Signal Daily. We don't do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends. The Core produces The Signal Daily. Follow us wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in.
If you have feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Write to us at feedback at thecore.in or you can write to me personally at kudrat at thecore.in.
Thank you for listening.
