Chinese visas to U.S. at half of pre-COVID levels

The number of U.S. student visas issued to Chinese nationals has fallen sharply since the beginning of the pandemic, worrying colleges who relied on their tuition dollars.

The U.S. only issued 31,055 F-1 visas to Chinese nationals in the first six months of 2022, compared to 64,261 for the same period in 2019, according to data from the U.S. State Department.

This drop of over 50% has hurt the revenue of universities across the U.S., large and small, reports The Wall Street Journal. Reasons include COVID-19 travel restrictions, concerns about crime and anti-Asian hate crimes and a Trump-era policy that barred entry for any researchers deemed a security risk.

China has been the largest source of international students to the U.S. for more than a decade, accounting for more than 35% of foreigners and contributing $15.9 billion in economic value in the 2019-20 school year.

They were a boon for state schools especially, as they generally pay out-of-state tuition. For example, out-of-state tuition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is $24,900, compared $7,700 for state residents.

“We’re probably not going to rebound fully to where we were before,” Josh Davis, associate vice chancellor for global affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told WSJ. The school enrolled 415 Chinese students for fall 2021, a 66% drop from its peak of 1,234 in fall 2016.

“This is the new reality.”

Prospective Chinese students had been considering alternatives since before the pandemic as domestic and international alternatives emerged. The U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore rose in popularity as the U.S.’s luster faded, according to a survey by Chinese education company New Oriental Education & Technology Group.

This trend was accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and a policy implemented by then-President Donald Trump to bar entry to any Chinese graduate students or postgraduate researchers with ties to military-related entities – a broad category in the one-party state. It was instated in May 2020 and has not yet been reversed by the Biden administration, reports WSJ.

Safety concerns have also become a top factor influencing Chinese students’ decisions about where to apply abroad, reports New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.

Students interviewed by WSJ cited reports of high COVID-19 deaths, gun violence and anti-Asian racism as issues that gave them pause about studying in the U.S. – topics that have been amplified by Chinese state-run media amid tensions with Washington.