Indian Students in the USA in 2026: The Enrollment, Visa and Green Card Numbers Behind Your Job Search

Fewer Indian students are arriving, refusals are reportedly up, and EB-2 India reopened behind its projection. What those numbers mean for your job hunt.

Part of our guide to the Visa Bulletin and priority dates.

If you are one of the Indian students in the USA right now, you have seen three headlines at once: enrollment is down, F-1 refusals are reportedly up, and the EB-2 India priority date reopened well behind its projection.

Here is the short answer. As of October 2026, SEVIS counts 335,698 active Indian F-1/M-1 records (down 12.5% year over year), Indian applicants faced a reported 61% F-1 refusal rate in 2025, Indian students made up 48.0% of everyone on STEM OPT in the latest official count, and the EB-2 India Final Action Date sits at 2013-11-01. Below is what each number means for your job search, with sources you can check.

Status line, as of 2026-10-14. In effect: D/S admission and the 60-day F-1 grace period; the final rule ending automatic EAD extensions (published and effective 2026-10-14); the DOL PERM suspension of 8 named employers (announced 2026-10-08). Blocked: the Duration-of-Status rule (court order 2026-09-14; DHS appealed 2026-09-30) and the $100,000 H-1B fee (Proclamation 11069 runs to 2027-09-21, but two court orders block the fee). Proposed: the $70,000 / $30,000 OPT fees (comments close 2026-11-09), the $103,265 H-1B fee, and the removal of deference to prior approvals (published 2026-10-14, comments close 2026-11-13). Not published: the November 2026 Visa Bulletin.

The numbers at a glance (as of October 2026)

Indian students in the USA: fewer arrivals, still the largest base

The September 2026 SEVIS snapshot, the latest official count of Indian students in the USA, shows 335,698 active F-1/M-1 records, down 12.5% from September 2025. Master's records fell 17.9%. The tables are on the SEVIS Data Mapping Tool page.

Two cautions. SEVIS counts active records, a stock that includes OPT and STEM OPT holders, not new students. And SEVIS public reports reportedly undercounted about 200,000 students from August 2024 onward, so year-over-year comparisons carry real uncertainty.

The sharper signal is the fall-cohort proxy. India's net jump in active records between August and September, when new fall students usually appear, reportedly fell from +13,493 in 2025 to +2,384 in 2026, about 82% smaller. That is a derived net change (arrivals minus departures), not a head count of new students. Still, it matches the master's decline: the Fall 2026 Indian cohort looks much smaller. Our September 2026 SEVIS enrollment breakdown covers the all-country picture.

IIE's Open Doors 2025 counted 363,019 Indian students in 2024/25, up 10%. That is a survey of an earlier school year, a different measure, not a contradiction.

What this means for your job search

• Your graduating peer group has not shrunk much yet. The steepest drops are in master's records and the fall-cohort proxy, which point at new arrivals. Many of the Indian students competing with 2026 and 2027 graduates for OPT-friendly roles are already here.
• Universities may feel it first. Assistantships, on-campus jobs and lab budgets tied to master's tuition can tighten. Rely on what your department confirms in writing.
• Recruiters watch cost and risk. The proposed OPT fee and the H-1B fee litigation are likelier to come up in a screening call than SEVIS tables.

F-1 visa for Indian students: reading the refusal rate correctly

The most-shared number about the F-1 visa for Indian students comes from Shorelight, which analysed State Department data obtained through a public-information request. As reported by ICEF Monitor, the F-1 refusal rate for India was 61% in 2025, up from 53% in 2024, against 35% for all countries combined.

Treat that as reported data: Shorelight recruits international students commercially. It also does not tell you your own odds. Refusals are individual decisions, most often under INA section 214(b), where the officer is not satisfied on nonimmigrant intent, ties, finances or program fit. Our explainer on why F-1 student visas get rejected walks through those grounds.

Three process facts for anyone applying from India:

1. There is no interview waiver ("dropbox") for F-1 applicants. The State Department ended most nonimmigrant interview waivers in 2025, and no 2026 reversal has been announced.
2. You apply in your country of nationality or legal residence. That rule has applied since 2025-09-06, so third-country stamping is not an option.
3. Wait times change constantly. Check the live State Department wait-times page for each Indian post, not a forum number.

Already in the US? The refusal rate matters through travel: a refusal abroad can strand you mid-search. Talk to your DSO before any trip that needs a new stamp.

Indian students are nearly half of STEM OPT

The latest official OPT data is SEVIS by the Numbers for calendar year 2024, published in June 2025. It counted 165,524 students on STEM OPT, and 48.0% of them were from India. No 2025 edition has been published yet.

That share is why OPT policy news hits Indian students hardest. Where the main rules stand:

• OPT fees: PROPOSED. The NPRM published 2026-10-08 would charge $70,000 before an initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 for each subsequent one, STEM OPT included. Comments close 2026-11-09. The school is the legal payer and could pass the cost on to students or employers. It would apply only to DSO recommendations dated 60 or more days after a final rule, and none exists. No $70,000 OPT fee is charged today. Our explainer on what DHS proposed for OPT has the detail.
• Duration of Status: BLOCKED. A federal court postponed and enjoined the D/S rule on 2026-09-14 (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS). DHS appealed on 2026-09-30; the appeal does not revive the rule, so D/S admission and the 60-day F-1 grace period still apply. See our D/S appeal tracker.
• End of automatic EAD extensions: IN EFFECT. The final rule was published and took effect 2026-10-14. Renewal EADs filed on or after 2025-10-30, H-4 EADs included, get no automatic extension. The H-4 EAD itself is not rescinded. If you or a spouse rely on a renewal EAD, ask an immigration attorney how the gap risk applies to your category.

Indian MS in CS students can see how OPT, STEM OPT and the wage-weighted H-1B lottery fit together in our H-1B sponsorship guide for Indian MS CS students. If your bachelor's was a three-year program, read how US employers treat Indian degree equivalency; it can affect H-1B specialty-occupation arguments and, later, EB-2 eligibility.

EB-2 India priority date: what the October 2026 bulletin actually says

The EB-2 India priority date is the number Indian students on a green card track watch most. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, came out around 2026-09-29. For Indian-born EB-2 applicants it reads:

Check the live Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov and the USCIS adjustment of status filing charts each month. For tracking your own date, see our EB-2 and EB-3 India priority date tracker; for what forecasters expect next, our November 2026 Visa Bulletin predictions are labelled as forecasts.

Why does a 2013 cutoff matter on OPT? An Indian-born hire who needs H-1B sponsorship is also a long green card case. Under AC21, an approved I-140 can support H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit while you wait, so an employer's PERM practice matters. Ask about green card policy before you accept.

Also in October: DOL suspended PERM for 8 named employers (Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini; announced 2026-10-08). That covers green card labor certification only, not H-1B petitions or status. See our DOL PERM suspension breakdown if one of those firms is on your list.

How to use these numbers in your search: a step-by-step plan

1. Pin your own dates. I-20 program end date, EAD dates, unemployment days used. Your documents govern over any article.
2. Ask your DSO about the OPT fee proposal. How would the school handle a final rule?
3. Target employers that sponsor and file PERM. Public LCA and PERM data show both; given EB-2 India, the green card record matters as much as the H-1B count.
4. Ask about green card timing at the offer stage. When does the company usually start PERM, and does it for India-born employees?
5. Plan travel around stamping. No dropbox, apply in your country of nationality or residence, and check live wait times before booking.
6. Re-check when the November bulletin publishes. Use official numbers, not forecasts.

What changed: old assumption, current reality, what to do

Common mistakes

• Treating SEVIS records as new enrollment. Active records include OPT and STEM OPT holders, so a 12.5% drop is not 12.5% fewer new students.
• Reading 61% as your personal odds. It is a reported aggregate from a party with a commercial interest.
• Quoting a November Visa Bulletin date as fact. It was not published as of 2026-10-14.
• Confusing the two grace periods. The F-1 60-day grace period is intact. The proposal to eliminate a 60-day grace period (comments close 2026-11-10) targets workers in H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN and similar statuses, not F-1 or OPT.
• Travelling with a pending I-765. Leaving the US while an OPT or STEM OPT application is pending is a known risk. Ask your DSO before any international trip.
• Taking legal judgments from forums. Ask your DSO about F-1, OPT or SEVIS, and a licensed immigration attorney about H-1B, PERM and green cards.

Frequently asked questions

How many Indian students are in the USA in 2026?

SEVIS showed 335,698 active F-1 and M-1 records for India in September 2026, down 12.5% from September 2025, with master's records down 17.9%. These are active records, not new enrollment, and SEVIS has reportedly undercounted students since August 2024. Open Doors 2025 counted 363,019 Indian students for 2024/25, a different survey and school year.

What is the F-1 visa rejection rate for India?

A Shorelight analysis of State Department data reported a 61% F-1 refusal rate for Indian applicants in 2025, up from 53% in 2024, against 35% for all countries. Shorelight has a commercial interest, so treat the figure as reported, not official. Each refusal is an individual decision, usually under section 214(b).

What is the EB-2 India priority date in October 2026?

The October 2026 Visa Bulletin set the EB-2 India Final Action Date at 2013-11-01 and the Dates for Filing at 2015-01-15, and USCIS uses the Dates for Filing chart for October. The November 2026 bulletin had not been published as of 2026-10-14, so any November date is a forecast.

Do Indian students have to pay the proposed 70,000 dollar OPT fee?

Not today. The $70,000 initial and $30,000 subsequent OPT fees are a proposed rule published 2026-10-08, with comments closing 2026-11-09. The school is the legal payer and may pass the cost on, and the fee would apply only to DSO recommendations dated 60 or more days after a final rule, which does not exist. Ask your DSO how your school is responding.

This article explains how these processes work. It is not legal advice, and it cannot tell you what to file or whether you qualify.

The numbers are tougher than a year ago, but the basics hold: target employers that sponsor, ask about green cards early, and keep your status dates in front of you. If you want help running a visa-aware job search, talk to F1Jobs. We sell a job-search service, so we have a stake.