Giving Compass' Take:

· The United States is known for providing a quality higher-level education. Because of this, it has become a destination for international students looking to further their education, as the Migration Policy Institute examines.

· What does the US provide for international students? How does the US benefit?

· If interested in learning more, check out this piece on public schools and immigrant students.

The United States has historically been the top destination for international students owing to its quality higher education system, welcoming culture, and relatively open labor market. Today, the United States remains the country of choice for the largest number of international students, hosting about 1.1 million of the 4.6 million enrolled worldwide in 2017. The next two destinations, the United Kingdom and China, hosted 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively. However, the U.S. share of globally mobile students dropped from 28 percent in 2001 to 24 percent in 2017, while the overall number of international students more than doubled in the same period.

In school year (SY) 2016–17, international enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities increased 3 percent from the prior year, the slowest growth rate since 2009–10. A total of 291,000 new international students enrolled at U.S. institutions in SY 2016–17, about 10,000 fewer than in SY 2015–16. Multiple factors contribute to slowed enrollment, including the rising cost of U.S. higher education, student visa delays and denials, and an environment increasingly marked by rhetoric and policies that make life more difficult for immigrants, as well as changing conditions and opportunities in home countries and increasing competition from other countries for students.

Read the full article about international students in the U.S by Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova at Migration Policy Institute.