In Depth: U.S. Visa Curbs Leave Chinese Students in Limbo as Trump Gambles With Their Future

Abrupt changes in U.S. policy and political rhetoric have left Chinese students seeking visas bewildered

The number of Chinese students in the U.S. fell 4.2% in the 2023–24 academic year to 277,000, according to the Institute of International Education

He Yuxing had planned to begin a degree course in biology in the United States this year after finishing high school there. Now, spending a gap year in China, he doesn’t know if he will be able to return. “Trump might just be generating buzz,” He said. “But he’s gambling with our futures.”

His anxiety is felt by many international students navigating a changing academic landscape shaped by volatile U.S. immigration policies under the Trump administration. For years,