Dear Erica,
Just a few days remain in the D/S public comment period. More than 1 million comment letters have been submitted already! Shoutout to all of our readers who are making this happen in their places of employment/within their NAFSA Region! Recall we have detailed guidance available on our D/S Portal Page to assist institutions in creating their own comment. Individuals can send their own message to their lawmakers urging their intervention.
Some members of Congress are using their voice to advocate for international students and the D/S policy. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), for example, are leading a letter to DHS in support of D/S. If you are represented by a Democrat in the House, please urge their signature on the letter by the deadline of Monday, September 29. NAFSA and the U.S. for Success Coalition have also been vocal in urging the Senate to get involved. We will keep you posted.
A bipartisan group of members of Congress are also taking a stand against FY25 cuts to international exchange programs. Per the Alliance for International Exchange, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) called on the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to restore congressionally approved FY25 funding for 21 Department of State educational and cultural exchange programs. On the House side, Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) led a similar letter from House Democrats. Please continue to urge your member of Congress to advocate for these programs!
It is heartening to see some Congressional advocacy on behalf of these critical programs. Thank you for lending your name and energy to our advocacy campaigns throughout these many months!
Late last Friday, September 19, the White House issued a proclamation creating a new $100,000 H-1B visa fee. Much chaos ensued. See an explainer on NAFSA’s blog for what we know about this new fee and its impact on the U.S.’ ability to attract and retain international talent and on U.S. employers’ access to the high skilled talent they need.
NAFSA media coverage continues to be robust, including placements on NPR: Casualties of Trump’s War on Higher Ed, in Bloomberg: U.S. Student Visa Arrivals Fall to Four-Year Low, Led by Asia Drop, and in the Wall Street Journal: American Colleges are Going All Out to Hold On to International Students.
Additionally, a Washington Post editorial and opinion pieces in the Wall Street Journal make the case that high skilled foreign workers boost the productivity of American workers, improve U.S. innovation, and prevent companies from relocating jobs abroad. A Quartz story posits that the new $100,000 H-1B fee could ultimately reduce affordability for domestic students if higher ed and research organizations must absorb it in order to hire necessary talent. View these stories and more NAFSA news coverage on the NAFSA in the News page.
Meanwhile, DHS published new SEVIS data for July, August, and September (yes, even though the month is not over). It shows the number of active international student SEVIS records on a monthly basis. Comparing September 2025 data to September 2024 data shows an increase of 0.8 percent which some analysts are using to infer that international student enrollment in U.S. universities this fall is better than expected.
However, NAFSA’s CEO, Fanta Aw urges caution in drawing conclusions at this premature date given that 1) not all schools have recorded their international students’ enrollment in SEVIS yet, 2) the active records reported includes those students on Optional Practical Training, thus overinflating the number of international students on campus, and 3) a number of these F-1 students will likely transition to a H-1B status as of October 1, which will result in a drop in these numbers.
In other news, we will of course also be watching closely to see if Congress will act to avoid a government shutdown (it’s not looking likely at the moment, but anything could happen over the next four days.)
On a brighter note, International Education Week will continue in 2025! NAFSA, the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), and the Forum on Education Abroad announced on September 23 a joint commitment to upholding this annual celebration of the “people, places, and power of global connections.” Mark your calendar for November 17-21, 2025.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Catch your breath this weekend and see you next week!
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
