Bummer: International Students Reconsidering Staying In The US After Graduation

By William Teach October 26, 2026 – 10:30 am

Really, the purpose of a visa is you do your thing, be it work or school, and then leave when it is over. You aren’t just supposed to stick around and stick around and stick around, then bring your whole family over
International students weigh futures in US amid Trump’s visa, immigration crackdown
International students at GW said they are reconsidering whether to remain in the United States after graduation or pursue educational and career opportunities abroad as President Donald Trump continues to tighten immigration policies.
Students said uncertainty surrounding post-graduation work authorization and stricter visa requirements have prompted them to rethink plans to build careers in the United States, pursue graduate degrees abroad or finish their undergraduate degrees at GW. The hesitation comes as GW faces declining international student enrollment in the wake of Trump’s continued visa and immigration restrictions, including a new policy threatening international students’ employment opportunities.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has made it more difficult for international students to study in the United States by enacting policies like a travel ban impacting international student applications from 38 countries and Department of Homeland Security rules shortening the time frame that international students can stay in the United States for their education.
This is the way it is supposed to be. They don’t just get to decide on their own that the US is going to let them stay to build their careers. You graduate and then you return to your home country (or another country) and then re-apply for a visa. Which shouldn’t be a career. It should be a time period for said visa and then you leave. What the US has been doing though is constantly approving extension after extension for visas. And, yes, then they bring over the rest of their families, and demand voting rights, free stuff, and citizenship.
This is how you get problems like Mahmoud Khalil, who came over with a student visa, immediately started being an anti-Israel/Jew protester at Columbia, graduated, but, never left, and the leftist judges just let him stay.
This month, the Trump administration proposed a rule requiring universities to pay a $70,000 fee for each student’s initial application to the optional practice training program, which allows students to work in jobs in their field during or after their studies. The fee is in addition to last year’s proposed $100,000 fee employers would have to pay for each new H-1B visa, which federal courts struck down in October.
Yeah, that’s not going to fly, either. Maybe there should be some sort of deposit, depending on a student’s income status, that would be void if they refuse to leave when their visa is over. Plus, I’ve always maintained that the schools and companies that host legal aliens on visas should be held responsible for over-stays.
The Hatchet spoke to five international students, all of whom requested anonymity over fears their visa could be at risk or of deportation. All five described uncertainty about their futures in the United States, with some considering graduate school or employment abroad and others questioning whether GW had adequately supported them through changes to immigration policies.
They aren’t supposed to have futures, unless they go through the whole citizenship process, if approved to try it.
University President Ellen Granberg said during a September Faculty Senate meeting that GW enrolled nearly 1,000 fewer international students this year — a number she said she anticipates to continue declining over the coming years. Vice President and Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success Jay Goff told the Faculty Senate in December that GW enrolled 392 fewer international students in fall 2025 than in 2024, which came after he said in August 2025 the University could face a $10 million decrease in revenue because of declining international student enrollment.
And that’s why schools do not like Trump’s rules: money. They can get a lot more out of international students than Americans. Meaning lots of Americans, including those in-state, are not considered. Skipping all the way to the last paragraph
“For decades, this experiential education program has served as a critical pipeline of international talent for the U.S. economy—especially in STEM fields where there is a worker shortage—and as an essential component of a U.S. higher education for international students,” Stewart said in an email.
But, let’s be honest: a goodly chunk of these foreign students are doing STEM, while so many of today’s Yutes are getting degrees in things that end with Studies, or might as well end with Studies, which are virtually worthless.

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