SEVP releases quarterly report on international students studying in US

WASHINGTON — "SEVIS by the Numbers," a quarterly report of international students studying in the United States, was released Tuesday by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The report is based on data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a Web-based system that includes information on international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.

As of July 8, 966,333 international students were enrolled in nearly 9,000 U.S. schools using an F (academic) or M (vocational) visa. This marks a nearly five percent decrease from April, primarily due to graduation rates, but an eight percent increase when compared to July 2013. Seventy-five percent of all international students were from Asia, with 28 percent from China. South Korea and Vietnam had the greatest percentage decrease in students studying in the United States at eight and seven percent, respectively, when compared to April statistics. The top 10 countries of citizenship for international students included: China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil. The University of Southern California, Purdue University, the University of Illinois, New York University and Columbia University rank one through five among U.S. schools with the most international students.

Nearly 350,000 international students pursued STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) coursework in July. Sixty-nine percent of international students studying STEM fields were male. Eighty-five percent of international students studying STEM coursework are from Asia. Seventy percent of international students studying engineering are from China and India. More international students study engineering than any other STEM field of study.

The July report included a special section that focuses on China. As of July 8, there were 270,596 international students from China studying in the United States. The majority of these students studied in California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Other key points from the report include: 79 percent of SEVP-certified schools had between zero and 50 international students; 72 percent of international students were enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs; and California, New York and Florida had the most SEVP-certified schools. A school must be SEVP-certified before it can enroll international students.

The full report can be viewed here. Report data was extracted from SEVIS July 8. It provides a point in time snapshot of data related to international students studying in the United States. Data for the previous "SEVIS by the Numbers" was extracted from SEVIS April 1.

SEVP monitors approximately one million international students pursuing academic or vocational studies (F and M visa holders) in the United States and their dependents. It also certifies schools and programs that enroll these students. The U.S. Department of State monitors exchange visitors (J visa holders) and their dependents, and oversees exchange visitor programs.

Both use SEVIS to protect national security by ensuring that students, visitors and schools comply with U.S. laws. SEVP also collects and shares SEVIS information with government partners, including CBP and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, so only legitimate international students and exchange visitors gain entry into the United States.

HSI reviews potential SEVIS records for potential violations and refers cases with potential national security or public safety concerns to its field offices for further investigation. Additionally, SEVP’s Analysis and Operations Center reviews student and school records for administrative compliance with federal regulations related to studying in the United States.