Write. Run. Eat. Drink. Travel. Root for the Nats! The only Newfie you know. Reporting on international ed and the economic, cultural, and political divides around American colleges.https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mlvrjda23k2nResponse from @presalliance.bsky.social to DHS accusations of fraud in OPT: "Broad enforcement narratives that question the OPT program as a whole risk undermining this vital and longstanding" program. https://www.presidentsalliance.org/press/presidents-alliance-reaffirms-importance-of-optional-practical-training-opt/15 May 2026 16:40 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvrjda23k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mltcfn5f6s2cInternational enrollments have dropped at colleges in all four of the major English-speaking destination countries — not just the United States.14 May 2026 17:04 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mltcfn5f6s2chttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mlqn7cp6ik27Immigration officials vowed to stamp out fraud in OPT, while a pending rule change could undercut it. Recent developments are a reminder that the foreign-student work program is under scrutiny by the Trump administration and could face reform or elimination https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-05-1313 May 2026 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlqn7cp6ik27https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mlomvkaryk25NEWS: Top Homeland Security officials called optional practical training, the work program for foreign graduates of U.S. colleges a "magnet for fraud" and promised to "relentlessly investigate" students and employers. More to come ... lnkd.in/gQbJtrrG https://lnkd.in/gQbJtrrG12 May 2026 20:29 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlomvkaryk25https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mloka3fnmk2aA seemingly arcane change to visa rules could be the next blow to the enrollment of foreign students in the United States. I explain: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-obscure-rules-change-that-could-drive-more-foreign-students-away12 May 2026 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mloka3fnmk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mlbjhl4uq22dThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security has declined to renew special academic and employment benefits for students from 14 countries, including Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar. Extension decisions are made based on assessments of changing conditions in home countries, a spokesperson said.07 May 2026 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbjhl4uq22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3ml6yub5oyc27The Trump administration has quietly allowed special academic and employment benefits to expire for students whose home countries are dealing with humanitarian, economic, or political crises. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-05-0606 May 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml6yub5oyc27https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3ml2eivqoz22jNEW from me: Colleges are worried about too few students. Economists are anxious about too many graduates. Wait — how can both things possibly be true? https://www.chronicle.com/article/higher-eds-enrollment-cliff-is-here-now-meet-the-graduate-glut04 May 2026 19:05 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2eivqoz22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mkpzra7rx224Three-quarters of Americans think international students are a “good thing” for the U.S., but views diverge widely based on political affiliation. Most Democrats and independents think its a positive, but only about half of Republicans surveyed agree in a Quinnipiac University pol30 Apr 2026 16:26 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpzra7rx224https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mkln3mmqws2dNEW from me: Immigration protections have become one of graduate students’ labor demands as foreign and undocumented students have been swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. https://www.chronicle.com/article/grad-student-unions-are-demanding-colleges-help-protect-students-from-deportation28 Apr 2026 22:29 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkln3mmqws2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mk6df7rmfk2aNEW from me: There’s a lot of handwringing about the trouble new graduates are having finding jobs. But underemplyment — that is, working in a position that doesn’t require a degree — may be the truest reflection of the current AI-addled labor market. https://www.chronicle.com/article/its-underemployment-stupid23 Apr 2026 15:31 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6df7rmfk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mk3tvqzvb22hA federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to lift an indefinite hold on granting employment authorization, including OPT, to students and scholars from countries such as Iran included in a presidential travel ban. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-04-222 Apr 2026 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk3tvqzvb22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mjmxf5p5lk2uIt's not just that student-visa denials are up — it's that they spiked in major emerging markets. In India, the biggest sender of international students to the U.S., 61% of visa applicants were refused in 2025. By contrast, in China, the previous top source, denial rates were 18%16 Apr 2026 17:41 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmxf5p5lk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mjkb4kh5yc2tThe U.S. rejected one in three student-visa applicants last year, according to just-released government data. Denial rates have ticked up over the past decade and are significantly higher than refusal rates for other nonimmigrant visas https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-04-1515 Apr 2026 15:57 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkb4kh5yc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mj366x6ai22hOnly about a tenth of Americans study in China now compared to the high, of 14,887, in the 2011 academic year. That's troubling to those who believe that a deep understanding of this geopolitically and economically powerful country is critical. Check out Latitudes, my weekly newsletter, for more 👇09 Apr 2026 15:54 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj366x6ai22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3miym7njqk222The United States will face a “critical shortage” of China experts with on-the-ground experience within a decade if the number of Americans studying there continues to be perilously low, a new report warns. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-04-0808 Apr 2026 15:27 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3miym7njqk222https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mijko3pi6s2wAhead of this week's Final Four, I took a look at the share of international students on the remaining men's and women's teams. The most global: @uarizona.bsky.social , where half the team is from overseas, from Australia to South Sudan02 Apr 2026 15:50 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijko3pi6s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mieupikric24For years, there has been a dominant narrative about college: Earning a degree is the surest pathway to the American dream. Lately, though, thanks to AI and economic shifts, that story line has begun to unravel. https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-the-case-for-college-isnt-cutting-it31 Mar 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mieupikric24https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3migxxhcets2wAccess to study abroad and other global-education activities is not equitable across community colleges, differing by focus, mission, and wealth, a new report found. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-04-0101 Apr 2026 15:10 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3migxxhcets2whttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mieupikric24For years, there has been a dominant narrative about college: Earning a degree is the surest pathway to the American dream. Lately, though, thanks to AI and economic shifts, that story line has begun to unravel. https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-the-case-for-college-isnt-cutting-it31 Mar 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mieupikric24https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mic5eklgbk2sOptional training, the postgraduate work program for international students, has become a major steppingstone to long-term work in the U.S. — more than half of recent recipients of H-1B skilled-worker visas first came to the country on student visas.30 Mar 2026 17:03 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mic5eklgbk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mhxxlbzq322oThe number of U.S. student visas issued in India the busiest summer months fell more than 60 percent ahead of the current academic year. Colleges hoped some of the backlog could be handled in September. It didn't happen: State Dept data show just 706 student visas were processed.26 Mar 2026 15:53 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhxxlbzq322ohttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mhvi2awbqc2kMany colleges relaxed rules to allow late arrivals of international students because of worldwide visa delays, but visas awarded in September did little to make up for precipitous summertime declines in issuances https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-03-2525 Mar 2026 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhvi2awbqc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mhgdxstbrs25Half of all international applications via the Common App went to the most selective U.S. colleges. The prestige gap may be widening: Foreign apps to the most elite colleges have held steady this admissions season while overseas interest in less selective institutions plummeted.19 Mar 2026 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgdxstbrs25https://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mhdrqfhns22bWhat if the United States, long the most popular destination for international students, became defined more by quality than quantity? https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-03-1818 Mar 2026 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhdrqfhns22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mguq5p5ld22wU.S. student-visa issuances ahead of the last academic year fell more than 60 percent in India. But declines in incoming international students were even steeper in Nepal and Nigeria.12 Mar 2026 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mguq5p5ld22whttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mgs65ayqo22iIn this week's Latitudes: troubling signs for international enrollments, a call for oversight of Chinese student groups, and another state jumps on the bandwagon of trying to limit colleges' H-1B hiring. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/latitudes/2026-03-1111 Mar 2026 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgs65ayqo22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/karinfischer.bsky.social/post/3mgn5shnsms2pFrom bad to worse: The number of visas awarded to foreign students took a nosedive in the summer of 2025, plummeting 36 percent, according to just-released data from the State Department, a troubling sign for U.S. colleges. I've got the analysis 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Mar 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:la4vebjo5gcn2yitmbpqxeif/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgn5shnsms2p