The Trump administration’s abrupt suspension of all new US student visa interviews across the world has sent shockwaves through Bangladesh’s academic and student communities– just as the country hit a historic milestone in US university enrolment.
According to the 2024 Open Doors Report, more than 17,000 Bangladeshi students are currently studying in the United States, a 26 percent rise from the previous year.
This growth ranks Bangladesh as the 8th largest sender of international students to the US, marking a staggering 250% increase, surging from 4,802 in the 2013-2014 academic year to an impressive 17,099 in 2023-2024, according to the US Embassy in Dhaka.
This upward trend, however, is now under serious threat.
In a cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, all American embassies and consulates—including the one in Dhaka– have been ordered to suspend new visa interviews under F, M, and J categories, covering academic, vocational, and exchange students.
The announcement comes just as thousands of Bangladeshi students were preparing for fall 2025 admission.
“I’ve already received my admission and I-20, and I was about to schedule my visa interview,” said one Dhaka-based graduate school admit. “Now everything’s uncertain. It’s heartbreaking.”
The timing could not be worse for others too.
With US universities gearing up for summer and fall enrolment, a visa halt could derail thousands of academic careers, force students to shift to Canada, Australia, or Europe, and undermine decades of soft diplomacy built through educational exchange, analysts said.
The decision accompanies new policy proposals that would require mandatory screening of international applicants’ social media activity, citing national security concerns.
The US Embassy in Dhaka has recently ramped up its messaging around visa compliance, warning students via social media that non-compliance, including missing classes or changing academic programmes, could lead to visa cancellation.
A recent embassy post read: If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your programme of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas.
Bangladeshi students not only benefit from their studies in the US, but also contribute an estimated $493 million annually to the US economy
According to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), international students on average contribute around $29,000 per year, covering tuition, housing, food, and other expenses.
Quoting the Association of International Educators, NAFSA said international students collectively support over 370,000 U.S. jobs and contribute about $43.8 billion to the national economy.
This analysis was conducted in partnership with JB International and is based on data from the US Departments of Education and Commerce, as well as the Institute of International Education (IIE).
Additionally, the US Department of Commerce estimated that international students contributed over $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, highlighting the substantial financial impact of international education.
The US welcomed over 1.1 million international students in 2023–24, a 7 percent increase from the year before. Graduate enrollment reached an all-time high, and community colleges saw the fastest growth in 25 years.
Bangladeshi students are a vital part of this ecosystem.
Unless reversed soon, the decision risks crippling Bangladesh’s most promising academic pipeline, cutting off opportunities for merit-based advancement, and damaging long-standing US-Bangladesh educational relations, analysts said.