Current as of October 2026. Enrollment figures come from fall 2026 university reports compiled by Higher Ed Dive (September 25, 2026) and from NAFSA's August 2026 national projection. Policy in this area is moving fast, so confirm current rules with official sources before you commit money or travel.
You have seen the headlines this fall. Indiana University is down 15.6% in international students. Ohio State is down 12.7%. The Universities of Wisconsin lost about 1,100 international students in a single year.
And if you're thinking about teaching abroad, a question may be sitting in the back of your mind. If it is getting harder to come here, is it getting harder to go there?
It isn't. But the news still makes people question it.
The University of Colorado enrolled 926 fewer students this fall than last. Of those, 582 were international students. Ohio State grew overall by 1.4% to a little over 68,000 students, but it still lost international students, down 12.7% to 5,234. Its students from China fell 20.7% in a single year.
Indiana University now has 4,763 international students, 15.6% fewer than a year ago. The University of North Texas lost more than 1,300, on top of about 2,500 the year before. Across the 13 campuses of the Universities of Wisconsin, enrollment fell by 1,732 students, and about 1,100 of them were international.
Across the country, NAFSA projected in August that U.S. campuses could have as many as 111,000 fewer international students this year, a drop of about 9.5%, with up to $3.4 billion in lost spending and close to 40,000 jobs affected.
Why this is happening depends on who you ask. The federal government has tightened scrutiny of student visas, and some states have added their own. Indiana now requires its public universities to run background checks on students from China, Russia, and several other countries who study certain science and engineering fields. Courts have paused some of the larger federal changes, and the government is appealing at least one of those rulings. Supporters of the tighter rules point to security and to protecting American jobs. Universities and groups like NAFSA point to the cost to campuses and to the towns around them.
Both arguments are on the public record. This post is not the place to settle them, and I'm not going to try.
No. These stories govern people coming to study in the United States. When you teach English in Thailand, South Korea, or Costa Rica, you work under that country's rules, and our program guides you through that country's visa process.
As of this week, CEP is placing native English speakers in paid teaching positions in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Vietnam. You can see every open program on our teach abroad overview.
Rules abroad change too, and they can change without much warning. That's the reason to plan with a program that watches them for you, and the reason we date posts like this one.
I have worked in international exchange for more than 50 years, starting at AIFS in 1979. Over that time, I have thought of exchange as a bridge. Traffic goes both ways. Students come here. Americans go there. Each crossing makes the next one a little easier.
This fall, one lane on that bridge is narrower. Whatever you think of the reasons, the result is that fewer young people from other countries are meeting Americans on a U.S. campus this year.
The other lane is still open. And when one lane narrows, the traffic in the other lane carries more weight.
Picture a sixth-grade classroom in Chiang Mai at 8:30 on a Monday morning. Thirty-two students. For most of them, the American who walks through that door may be the only American they get to know in person for years. They learn how Americans listen, laugh, and treat people from that one teacher.
That teacher could be you. A career-changer in your thirties. A recent graduate who wants a year that counts. A classroom teacher with a summer free. The crossing still works. It needs people willing to make it.
Watch the rules of the country you want to teach in, not the rules for students coming here. They are separate systems.
Set a real date. Most of our programs have intakes through the year, and some, like teaching in Thailand by January, have timelines that start now.
And talk it through with someone who has done it. Almost everyone we talk with carries some version of your worry right now. Saying it out loud is how most of them get past it.
So here is the question I would ask you. If a classroom on the other side of the world is waiting for one American to walk through the door this year, what would it take for that American to be you?
Talk through your options with us
Several large public universities reported steep declines this fall, including Indiana University (down 15.6%) and Ohio State (down 12.7%). They tie the drop to tighter federal scrutiny of student visas and, in some states, new state rules, though courts have paused some federal changes. Supporters cite security and jobs, while universities and groups like NAFSA cite the economic cost.
No. The rules behind the fall 2026 decline apply to people coming to study in the United States. Americans who teach English abroad follow their host country's rules, and a placement program such as The Cultural Exchange Project guides teachers through that country's visa process.
NAFSA: Association of International Educators projected in August 2026 that U.S. campuses could enroll as many as 111,000 fewer international students in 2026-27, a decline of about 9.5%. The same analysis estimated up to $3.4 billion in lost spending and close to 40,000 jobs affected.
As of October 2026, The Cultural Exchange Project places native English speakers in paid teaching positions in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Program lengths range from summer placements in Thailand to 12-month contracts in Japan, Cambodia, and Costa Rica.
You don't need to wait on U.S. student visa policy, because it doesn't govern your work in another country. What matters is the country's current rules and the program's intake dates. CEP runs intakes year-round, so the best next step is a conversation about which country and start date fit your plans.
The Cultural Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has placed native English speakers in paid teaching positions abroad for decades. It runs programs in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Randy LeGrant, CEP's Executive Director, writes these blog posts. If you like his writing, he also writes The Crossing — a weekly letter drawn from fifty years of watching people change their lives and their location. One story, one step, one question. Three minutes, every Friday. Subscribe free here.