DHS: China Has Most Student Visas in U.S., Nearly Half a Million in 2018

Federal data shows that roughly 480,000 Chinese students studied in the United States in 2018, delivering more than $10 billion in fees to universities nationwide.

China is the leading source of foreign students, far ahead of India’s 250,000 students, Korea’s 90,000 students, and Saudi Arabia’s 6o,000 students. Ten European countries provided fewer than 100,000 students, according to the visa data provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Amid rising concern about China’s coronavirus, the huge inflow creates healthcare problems for U.S. universities, but also for the many companies that have hired Chinese graduates in place of Americans.

Many of the foreigners come to the United States to get work permits and U.S. jobs, mostly via the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which is open to foreign graduates of U.S. universities. For example, the DHS data showed that Facebook hired 725 of the foreign OPT workers in 2018, alongside several hundred new H-1B visa workers.

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