Study in US: Trump govt proposes 15% cap on foreign student intake, 5% per country

In another blow to the Indian students aspiring to study in the US, the Donald Trump government has proposed a 15 percent cap on its international student intake at the undergraduate level, as part of its crackdown on student migration, suggest reports. Additionally, only 5% students from a single country can reportedly take admissions.

The announcement comes as part of the nine-page memo titled 'A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education' issued by the White House, the reports say. Notably, the enrollment cap applies to nine universities in the US including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania. The universities have been recommended to meet the requirements in order to receive federal benefits.

The document doesn’t stop at just the limitations on student intake but also talks about faculty hiring and campus culture. Institutions have been reportedly asked to publicly share the test result data while applicants are required to take standardised tests like SAT . The government has asked to freeze the tuition fee for five years. Moreover, the universities have been directed to maintain distance from politics. Another important directive is screening of foreign students in line with the American or western values.

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More than 3.72 lakh Indian students are pursuing various degrees in the US, as per the data by student and exchange visitor information system. The proposed

Trump government policies

Reacting to the policy, a doctor by profession said in a post on X, “This new rule will significantly impact international students. Admissions will become tougher, especially for students from countries with many applicants. Scholarships and career opportunities may also become limited. For the US, this could reduce the talent pool and cultural diversity.”

Mocking at US over the proposed changes, an X user sarcastically wrote, “After H-1B visa changes, the US Govt now directed colleges to limit international students to 15% of enrolment and no more than 5% from any single country. Turns out America’s biggest fear is MBAs and techies from China and India.”

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Questioning the proposal and highlighting the revenue generated by Indians, another user asked, “People like Elon, Satya nadella, Jensen huang all were having H1 and generated trillions of dollars in revenue and millions of jobs. So is that bad? Also international students spend like half a million dollars for studying in US. So is US not benefiting out of that?”