As many as 211,703 Indian students are currently studying in various American universities, said the latest Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) report of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations.

India ranks second in number of foreign students studying in the US while China tops the list with 377,070 students. In its latest biannual report on international student trends, 49 per cent of the F and M student population in the United States hailed from either Chin or India, and interest continues to grow. Over the reporting period, both China and India saw proportional growth between 1 and 2 per cent, with China sending 6,305 more students and India sending 2,356 more students.

According to the report, despite steady growth from the two most populous nations, there was a slight decrease in the number of Asian students coming to study in the United States over the reporting period. The sharp decline in the number of students from Saudi Arabia (-9,971), South Korea (-5,488), and Yemen (-396) outweighed the rapid growth in the number of students coming from Pakistan (+448), Burma (+206) and Cambodia (+109).

The J-1 exchange visitor population, that offers cultural and educational exchange opportunities in the United States, increased by four per cent from 201,408 in March 2017 to 209,568 in March 2018.