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The number of foreign students enrolling in US universities stagnated last year and may now be declining for the first time in decades, according to a series of studies conducted by the New York-based Institute of International Education (IIE).

The academic year from 2002 to 2003 saw sharp increases in the number of students coming from India and South Korea, the IIE survey found, but the number arriving from Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East declined.

University administrators and academic groups attribute the slowing enrolment rates largely to the strict visa-issuance policies enacted in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

Link to full Nature article

Reference: Nature 426, 5 (2003)