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India lost nearly 49,400 students with active federal records in a year, more than half of the nation’s entire international student decline, and the losses are concentrated in master’s programs.
The number of Indian students in US schools fell 13.5 percent over the past year, to 316,893 in October 2026 from 366,258 in October 2025, according to Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) figures reported by the Indian wire service IANS. The drop makes India the main driver of a broader contraction in international enrollment, and it is hitting hardest in master’s programs, the pipeline that feeds Optional Practical Training, the H-1B lottery and, eventually, employment-based green cards.
These are not admissions surveys. SEVIS is the Department of Homeland Security system schools use to keep the records of every F-1 and M-1 student, and the count includes anyone with an active record, including graduates on OPT. DHS refreshes its SEVIS data mapping tool monthly, making these snapshots the closest thing to a live headcount. October is the first reading that captures a full fall semester under this year’s tighter student visa screening.
Indian students in US account for most of the drop
| Active SEVIS records | October 2025 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All international students | 1,283,240 | 1,192,572 | -7.1% |
| India | 366,258 | 316,893 | -13.5% |
| China | 245,038 | 220,157 | -10.2% |
| All other countries (calculated) | 671,944 | 655,522 | -2.4% |
| Indian master’s students | 292,929 | 234,034 | -20.1% |
Nationally, active international student records fell by 90,668. India’s loss of 49,365 is about 54 percent of that decline, based on the reported figures, and India and China together account for about 82 percent of it. Students from every other country combined fell only about 2.4 percent. India remains the largest sending country, but its share of active records slipped to about 26.6 percent from 28.5 percent.
The sharpest movement is in graduate study. Indian master’s records fell by 58,895, which is more than India’s net loss. A reported rise in Indian doctoral records, to 41,729 from 28,609, makes up most of the difference, while bachelor’s records slipped to 36,011 from 38,522, IANS reported. A doctoral jump of that size runs against the rest of the data, and it is worth checking against DHS’s own mapping tool before treating it as a trend.
Why the master’s pipeline is taking the hit
For more than a decade, the typical Indian student in the United States has followed the same path: a one- or two-year STEM master’s degree, a year of OPT, the 24-month STEM extension, then an H-1B registration and, for many, a long wait in the EB-2 green card backlog. In 2026, almost every step of that path has become harder or more expensive. DHS has finalized a rule ending duration-of-status admission for students, proposed a $70,000 fee on schools for a student’s first OPT authorization, and issued internship guidance that universities are challenging in court. Visa issuance has slowed as well, with temporary visa issuance down 23 percent early in fiscal 2026, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of State Department data.
Master’s students are the most exposed because a short, usually self-funded degree pays off mainly through the work authorization that follows. When that path looks uncertain, the master’s applicant is the one most likely to look elsewhere or defer.
One caution: because SEVIS counts OPT workers, part of the decline may reflect graduates finishing or leaving OPT rather than fewer new arrivals. The reported figures do not separate the two, so the October snapshot measures the size of the whole student-and-OPT population, not just this fall’s incoming class.
What the numbers point to next
The practical effect will show up downstream. A smaller master’s cohort in 2026 means smaller OPT and STEM OPT cohorts in 2027 and 2028, fewer F-1 graduates in future H-1B registrations, and less tuition revenue for the regional public universities and graduate programs that have leaned most heavily on Indian enrollment. Employers that recruit from those programs are likely to see a thinner pool of US-trained candidates, at the same time that Indian nationals already hold the large majority of H-1B approvals.
The open question is whether this is a trough or a new baseline. The next checkpoints are the Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors report, usually released in mid-November, the spring 2027 SEVIS snapshots, and final action on DHS’s OPT fee proposal. If master’s records keep falling through spring, the decline will start reshaping the skilled-worker pipeline.
This article is for general information and is not legal advice.
Sources
- IANS: Indian students in US fall 13.5 pc to 317,000, DHS data (Nov. 1, 2026)
- DHS Study in the States: SEVIS Data Mapping Tool (updated monthly)
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