Trump's visa curbs hit India hard

Legal immigration to the United States has dropped sharply in the first eight months of 2025, with India and China among the hardest hit as the Trump administration tightened visa policies, The Washington Post reported.

The State Department issued about 250,000 fewer visas from January to August 2025 than during the same period in 2024, according to the report. Overall approvals for permanent resident and temporary visas fell by 11 per cent, based on official data released in early March, the daily said.

The decline covers visas for students, workers, and family members of US citizens and legal residents. Tourist visas also dropped during the same period.

India and China saw some of the steepest declines. Visas for their nationals fell by about 84,000, the report said. The drop was driven largely by fewer student, worker, and family-related visas, The Washington Post said.

International students were among the worst affected. Student visas fell by more than 30 per cent in the first eight months of 2025. Exchange visitor visas also declined sharply, dropping by nearly 30,000.

Visa approvals for permanent residency, or green cards, also decreased. The largest declines were seen in visas for workers, certain relatives, and nationals from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Officials and analysts linked the decline to a combination of policy changes and administrative factors. These include a travel ban on 19 countries, a temporary pause on student visa interviews, and expanded vetting requirements, including social media checks, the daily said.

Staffing cuts at the State Department also reduced processing capacity. Fewer consular appointments and longer wait times were reported at several high-demand locations.

“A visa is a privilege, not a right. Unlike the Biden administration, President Trump is not willing to compromise the safety of American citizens to allow mass migration of unvetted foreign nationals into our country,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, according to the report.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump was elected with a resounding mandate to put American citizens first, and every policy decision he’s made has reflected that priority.”

Analysts said both policy and demand factors may be driving the decline.

“We don’t have a separation of how much of this decline is caused by demand and how much is caused by policy, and they’re obviously both putting downward pressure on the number of visas that are issued,” said Cecilia Esterline of the Niskanen Center.

Critics argue the restrictions risk harming the US economy and global competitiveness.

“There’s no policy more important to the present and future of the US economy than immigration,” said Jason Furman of Harvard University. “When we restrict immigration, we don’t just shortchange labor force growth today, we also reduce innovation and productivity growth in the future.”