Overview
- Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan cautioned that political hostility and visa restrictions threaten long-term US economic growth by weakening talent pipelines
- The Trump administration ordered US embassies to suspend scheduling new student visa interviews while it reviews stricter social media screening protocols
- Over 1.1 million international students enrolled in US universities in 2023-24, with India and China supplying the largest shares
- Rajan highlighted that immigrant entrepreneurs such as Google co-founder Sergey Brin emerged from US campuses and have been pivotal to American technological leadership
- University leaders warn that prolonged uncertainty could prompt prospective students to delay or redirect their plans to study elsewhere