US study visa refusals peak in 2023: What this means

In the United States, F-1 visa refusal rates have reached record levels, with over 250,000 international students turned away from studying in the country. 

In 2023, the refusal rate rose to 36 percent totaling 253,355 refusals, exceeding 2022 levels. It was also almost twice that of refusal for other visa types, ICEF Monitor reported. 

Economic impact and consequence

The direct economic effect of the visa refusals is estimated at over $7 billion annually. 

Since a student can apply for an F-1 visa after getting accepted into a government-approved university, the refused students would have likely paid about $30,000 per year (or $7.6 billion per year in tuition and living expenses), and that number climbs to $30.4 billion over four years in lost economic gains for the US. 

The more than 1 million international students at US HEIs contributed over $40 billion to the US economy during academic year 2022-23, up by nearly 19% or $6.3 billion from the previous year, and buoyed some 368,000 jobs, NAFSA noted. 

There has been a 31% drop in visa issuances in the US from 2015 to 2023, and the increasing rate of student visa refusal has been likened to the situation in Australia. 

Potential reasons behind high refusal rates

The rise in Indian student applications may be one, as those applicants received 29% of all issuances last year and historically are more likely to be refused a visa than their Chinese counterparts. Zooming out, Indian applications were likely very high in 2023. 

US immigration officials may also have been potentially extremely subjective in student visa interviews.

Experts have called on the Biden administration to be more transparent about such student visa denials, implementing a fair policy for reviewing student applications. 

Trends and movements

Last year, the industry reported this trend of rising visa refusal rates. Yet despite rising rejection rates, student visa issuances in the US managed to exceed pre-COVID levels. 

For insiders, this is a question of accessibility stemming from government policy, particularly as official visa data also unveils significant variations in rejection rates by regions worldwide:

• 54% of African students were denied F-1 visas in 2022, compared with a 9% rate for European students
• Asian students, while faring better than African students, still had a 36% visa rejection rate - much higher than that for European students

What’s an F-1 visa?

The F-1 visa allows an international student to temporarily live in the US for a certain period of time while studying at a college or university certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).

This non-immigrant visa is popular among students seeking to study at a US institution, where they can only apply for an F-1 visa after an accredited US institution accepts their application.

The requirements for an F-1 visa include institution certification, full-time enrollment, English language proficiency, adequate funding, valid passport, as well as proof of home country residence. 

As related reading, see my previous writing on the US’ lack of a national strategy for international education amid its continuing popularity as a study destination.