A new report out today says more than 700,000 foreign students came to the U.S. to study last year. That’s a record high for U.S. colleges and universities. Why the influx? It has a lot to do with state budgets.
The F1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa for international students who are qualified to attend a full course of study at colleges, universities, conservatories, academic high schools (subject to strict regulations) and institutions with language-training programs in the U.S.
Guess who sent the most students to the US in 2011 – China.
The annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education says the number of Chinese students on U.S. campuses was up 22 percent last school year.
Allan Goodman is president of the Institute. He says international students pump more than $21 billion into the U.S. economy. They often pay full tuition, and universities hit by state budget cuts say that’s one reason they’re recruiting more foreign students. Read more from NPR.
We expect more students to come in 2012 and we hope US Consulate and Embassies worldwide will also make it a smooth process to actually get visas. The benefits are both for the US economy and for the students in the US gaining an amazing opportunity to be part of the global market place.