Fewer British students chasing the American Dream

The number of British students granted visas to study in the USA has hit a seven-year low under Donald Trump, new analysis from The Sunday Telegraph has revealed.

Official figures show that there were fewer than 4,500 UK students granted the right to attend school or college in the USA in 2017, which is a 16% drop from 2016. This number is the lowest since 2010 and amounts to a decrease of 6% in Trump’s first year in office.

There have been no figures published on the number of applications rejected and Trump has made no changes to student visa rules, leaving the reason for the decrease unclear. However, experts have suggested that it could be because British students are discouraged from studying in the USA due to the current “unwelcoming” climate.

It is not only British students affected; there has also been a decrease in the number of students from other EU countries and Asia who are granted visas to study in the USA.

Lynden Melmed, a lawyer at one of the USA’s top immigration law firms believes that it could be due to the prospect of tighter immigration laws. He stated: “Even if someone has been admitted to an American college, there’s no guarantee they will be issued a visa by the US government…if you’re a high school student figuring out where to go next, will you pay the application fees and put in all the effort to apply to US universities when everything you read says you may not get a visa?”

Jayoti Shah, a second-year History student, stated that Trump is not the main factor discouraging her from studying in America, saying that she would be “more put off by their absurd costs and need for health insurance”.

Nicole Hargraves, a second-year Biomedical Science student, agreed but also underlined her concerns regarding women’s health in the USA, “which I suppose Trump hasn’t helped”, she remarked.

However, a spokesperson for the State Department has commented: “We want students to know that they should continue to apply to study in the United States.”

They added: “Over one million international students are now in US higher education institutions, maintaining the United States’ long-standing position as the world’s top host nation for international students. This is a testament to the unmatched quality of American higher education in the eyes of international students and their families.”