U.S. universities are seeing a sharp drop in international applicants and enrollments after a visa‑interview pause and processing delays last year, according to reporting that calls the decline a crisis for export education. New international student enrollments fell sharply in fall 2025 — institutions that relied heavily on overseas cohorts, especially in graduate business and engineering programs, reported drops as large as 50–70% in some programs. Higher education leaders attribute the collapse to visa interview backlogs that stranded tens of thousands of admitted students, eroding trust among prospective applicants. The sector faces a material revenue shortfall: international students contributed about $55 billion in 2024–25 and supported hundreds of thousands of jobs. Universities are responding with targeted recruitment, expanded online offerings, and new administrative investments to rebuild pipelines, but officials warn recovery will take multiple admission cycles unless federal visa processing stabilizes.