US elections | How will US elections affect international students?

The US election on November 5 is a big deal, not only for Americans but also for international students who are paying close attention to how results could change things.

Although neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris specifically mentions international students in their campaigns, they do talk a lot about immigration, which could affect the lives and future plans of students from abroad.

Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, H-1B

For international students, one major benefit of studying in the US is the chance to stay and work for a while after graduation through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme. OPT allows them to get job experience, which can be a step towards longer-term visas like the H-1B.

But whoever wins the election may change immigration and work visa rules.

Currently, the US limits H-1B visas to 65,000 per year, with an additional 20,000 for US graduate degree holders. For 2024, about 781,000 people applied, but only 24 of them were selected to proceed, reflecting high competition for this visa.

Harris supports increasing skilled worker visas like the H-1B, while Trump’s administration might impose stricter immigration rules, mainly affecting unskilled workers but not as much in the IT sector.

This could mean a mix of outcomes for international students looking to work in the US.

How will Trump's immigration policies affect international students?

Trump’s 2024 campaign message on immigration includes securing borders and reclaiming national sovereignty, which isn’t seen as positive for international students.

In the past, he talked about deporting non-US citizens, seeing them as a burden. However, Trump recently suggested offering automatic green cards to international students who finish college in the US, to encourage them to stay rather than return to countries like India or China, where he says they often become very wealthy.

Trump’s campaign also focuses on opposing “globalism,” and his approach toward China could mean fewer Chinese students enrolling in US schools, which might hurt international student numbers overall.

Right now, Chinese students make up over a quarter of international enrolments in the US.

During Trump’s last term, he enacted a “Travel Ban” affecting mostly Musilm-majority West Asian countries.

His 2024 campaign says he would bring this ban back, though there aren’t clear details on which countries or visa types it would cover. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Trump’s campaign promised to “expand the Travel Ban on entry from terror-plagued places.”

How will Harris' immigration policies affect international students?

The Biden-Harris administration has pushed for expanding legal immigration, including through a failed bipartisan border deal that would have raised limits on employment-based visas. Harris has supported this, though she hasn’t shared much more on her plans for legal immigration, except for a “pathway to citizenship.”

Harris vs Trump on US college protests

The election has also seen candidates respond to recent pro-Gaza protests on over 100 US campuses. Trump and other Republicans are calling for the revocation of visas for foreign students involved in these protests, with Trump’s campaign post stating it would “revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners” and deport “pro-Hamas radicals” to make campuses “safe and patriotic.”

Harris has been more reserved on this issue. In a July interview, she recognised the feelings behind the protests, saying, “They are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza,” though she did not fully agree with all protest points.

An open letter from the American Council on Education, representing over 1,600 colleges and universities, urged both candidates to support international students. They noted that international students “enrich our campuses and contribute greatly to US innovation and economic growth.”

(With inputs from agencies)