The Trump administration has actively sought various methods to limit foreign nationals from entering the United States, including recent changes to the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers. These revisions necessitate employers to offer increased compensation to H-1B employees and restrict the acceptable degree qualifications for applicants, a change that has promptly led to multiple legal challenges.

However, it might be unexpected to discover that U.S. student visas issued globally have decreased significantly this year. A new report from Nikkei Asia, referencing data from the U.S. State Department, indicates that only 808 F-1 student visas were approved for applicants from mainland China between April and the end of September. This represents a 99% reduction compared to the 90,410 F-1 student visas issued during the same timeframe last year.

A similar trend is evident for students from other nations: F-1 visa approvals have decreased by 88% for students from India, 87% for those from Japan, 75% for students originating from South Korea, and 60% for students from Mexico.

Several factors appear to be contributing to this situation.

The coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly a key element, as families are becoming more reluctant to send their children to the U.S., which reported 93,581 new cases on Sunday alone, in contrast to 24 in China, 38,310 in India, 468 in Japan, 97 in South Korea, and 3,762 in Mexico.

Concerns regarding racism are also present, with many individuals of Asian descent and Asian-Americans observing that Donald Trump’s statements concerning the coronavirus have intensified the discrimination they have experienced. Terms such as “kung flu” and “China virus” have become prevalent, according to a recent survey conducted by researchers at Washington State University, who note that increased reports of racial discrimination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic correlate with a rise in reported adverse health effects. (Nikkei Asia also reports that students currently studying in the U.S. have also been subjected to such incidents, citing an example of a 23-year-old Chinese woman who was verbally told to leave the country.)

However, the outlet suggests that a heightened focus on alleged Chinese espionage within Washington may be playing a more substantial role. It is speculated that the increased difficulty in acquiring U.S. visas could lead some Chinese students to pursue educational opportunities in alternative countries, including Canada.

For instance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated in July during remarks at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library that, “We welcomed Chinese citizens with open arms, only to see the Chinese Communist Party take advantage of our free and open society. China sent propagandists into our press conferences, our research centers, our high schools, our colleges, and even into our PTA meetings.”

A negative reaction towards Chinese students is not new to the Trump administration, although it has been considerably accelerated in recent months. In 2018, the State Department began limiting visas for Chinese graduate students in specific research areas to a one-year duration, requiring them to reapply afterward. This action reversed a policy established during the Obama administration that permitted Chinese citizens to obtain five-year student visas.