US Visa Delays Push International Admissions Into Crisis

US Visa Delays have emerged as the defining constraint on international admissions, reshaping institutional planning and student mobility in ways the higher education sector can no longer ignore.

According to the newly released Open Doors 2025 report, alongside its institutional survey, a staggering 96% of colleges identified visa denials and prolonged processing times as the primary reason for declining new enrolments in the 2025–26 cycle. Travel restrictions trailed far behind, though still significant, with 68% of institutions citing them as the next major barrier.

What these numbers outline is a predictable yet deeply disruptive pattern: students receive admission offers, secure their Form I-20s, enter the SEVIS system—and then remain stranded outside the United States as their visa applications enter long, uncertain queues. Into this widening gap, universities have expanded one mechanism to keep students from slipping out of the pipeline entirely: the international student deferral.

US Visa Delays: What Deferrals Are—And Why They Are Surging

A deferral allows an admitted student to postpone their start date to a future semester without submitting a new application. While administratively simple, deferrals have now taken on an entirely new role: a buffer against systemic delays students have no control over.

The Open Doors data underscores how sharply institutions have leaned into this tool:

• 72% of colleges are allowing students to defer to Spring 2026

• 56% are extending deferrals to Fall 2026

• Deferrals have risen 39% compared with the previous year

Alongside this surge, 37% of institutions are offering additional flexibility—letting students begin coursework online or join after the term begins. Together, these adjustments form an informal dual-track admissions system: one that reflects the traditional academic calendar, and another paced by the unpredictable rhythm of visa approvals.

Why Colleges Are Relying on Deferrals Now

The root cause is unmistakable: U.S. Visa Delays.

Institutions report repeated disruptions from:

• Long visa processing times

• 221(g) administrative reviews

• 214(b) denials

For students, these delays often strike after they have paid deposits, secured housing, withdrawn from other programs, or rearranged personal commitments.

The institutional impact is equally stark. The snapshot data shows:

• 17% decline in new international starters

• 57% of colleges reporting drops on their own campuses

The uncertainty is more damaging than the decline itself. Universities cannot reliably predict which of their admitted students will arrive for the semester they were offered.

Deferrals provide a safety valve. They stabilize enrolment, help colleges maintain continuity, and protect revenue projections that depend heavily on international students.

US Visa Delays: How Deferrals Are Reshaping the 2025–26 Admissions Cycle

The Fall 2025 Snapshot reports only a 1% decline in total international student numbers across the United States—but hides a deeper issue: a 17% drop in fresh starters.

This mismatch reveals a truth institutions are wrestling with in real time:
demand is strong, but access is blocked.

The U.S. still enrolled 1.2 million international students, a 5% increase from last year. Students want to come. Universities want to host them. But the visa process is constraining both ends.

Deferrals have therefore become core infrastructure, not a courtesy:

• Universities use them to hold seats open while the visa backlog eases.

• Students rely on them to avoid forfeiting an opportunity they have already earned.

• Admissions offices use them to manage unpredictable movement in enrolment cycles.

Deferrals are no longer an exception. They are the quiet machinery keeping the system from losing entire cohorts.