US student pipeline at risk: 49% of foreign students say they wouldn’t have applied without duration of status

Nearly half of international students say they would not have enrolled in US universities without the Duration of Status (D/S) system, a recent survey by the Institute for Progress and NAFSA found. The flexibility offered by D/S is critical to students in long academic programmes. Combined with concerns over Optional Practical Training (OPT), H-1B visa allocation, and visa process hurdles, these factors are contributing to a sharp decline in enrolments, particularly from countries like India.