By MAKIYA SEMINERA and CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER, Associated Press

The number of international student arrivals in the U.S. dropped by nearly a fifth in August as American universities started the new academic year, according to federal data.

The dip is the latest sign of a hit to colleges’ international enrollment as the Trump administration ratchets up scrutiny of foreign students.

International visitors arriving to the U.S. on student visas declined 19% in August compared with the same month in 2024, according to the preliminary data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office. The numbers declined also in June and July but August is the summer month that typically sees the most international student arrivals — 313,138 this year.

As the federal government has clamped down on student visas, industry groups have warned of international enrollment declines that threaten school budgets and American colleges’ standing in the world. While the full extent of the change remains to be seen, the new data suggests a turnaround in international enrollment that had been rebounding in the U.S. from a decline worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around 1.1 million international students were in the United States last year — a source of key revenue for tuition-driven colleges. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, and many pay full tuition.

Visa challenges and travel bans blocked some students

Many students who had plans to study in the U.S. could not enter the country because of difficulty lining up visas. In late May, the State Department paused the scheduling of visa interviews for foreign students, which resumed three weeks later with new rules for vetting visa applicants’ social media accounts.

The timing of the pause had “maximum possible impact” for visa issuances for the fall semester, said Clay Harmon, executive director of the Association of International Enrollment Management, a nonprofit membership association.

A travel ban and other restrictions for 19 countries the Trump administration announced in June created even more uncertainty for some students. Most of the countries included in the ban were located in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The federal data shows those regions experienced the largest declines in international student arrivals this August, with drops of 33% from Africa, 17% from the Middle East and 24% from Asia — including a 45% decrease from India, the country that sends the most students to the U.S.

The data includes new as well as returning students, but some who were already in the U.S. avoided traveling outside the country this summer for fear of problems reentering.

Sara, a 2022 college graduate in Iran, was planning to come to the U.S. to accept a fully funded spot in the University of Iowa’s physical rehabilitation science Ph.D. program. Sara, who spoke on condition of partial anonymity out of fear of being targeted, had been trying for years to study in the U.S. and had to pass up offers from other programs that didn’t offer financial aid.

But not long after her admission this spring, the U.S. paused visa interviews. Then, the travel ban affecting Iran was announced.

Her graduate school admission was deferred to next year, but Sara said she has started applying to universities in Germany. She begun taking lessons in German — now her fourth language — several weeks ago to prepare.

Students have concerns about the political climate — and cost

Some international students and their families have been wary of the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on immigration. In the spring, the federal government stripped thousands of international students of their legal status, causing panic before the Trump administration reversed course. Trump also has called for colleges to reduce their dependence on foreign students and cap international enrollment.

Zeynep Bowlus, a higher education consultant in Istanbul, Turkey, said interest in U.S. universities among the families she works with had been declining over the last few years largely because of financial reasons and skepticism about the value of an American degree. Policy changes in the U.S. are adding to their concerns, she said.

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“I try not to make it too dramatic, but at the same time, I tell them the reality of what’s going on and the potential hurdles that they may face,” Bowlus said.

Institutions in other countries have seized the opportunity to attract students who might be cooling on the U.S. Growing numbers of Chinese students have opted to stay in Asia, and international applications to universities in the United Kingdom have surged.

Elisabeth Marksteiner, a higher education consultant in Cambridge, England, said she will encourage families looking at American universities to approach the admissions process with more caution. A student visa has never been guaranteed, but it is especially important now for families to have a backup plan, she said.

“I think the presumption is that it’s all going to carry on as it was in the past,” Marksteiner said. “My presumption is, it isn’t.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A 21-year-old man was killed and three other people were injured in a Tuesday night shooting inside a downtown Minneapolis bar.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 400 block of Fourth Street South about 11:40 p.m. They found a man who’d been shot multiple times. Despite lifesaving efforts, he died at the scene, according to Minneapolis police.

Another man and two women were transported to Hennepin Healthcare with apparent non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

“An argument inside a crowded bar should never end in gunfire and a loss of life,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement of preliminary information indicating that a fight inside the bar escalated into a shooting.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning.

The shooting came after other recent instances of multiple people killed or injured in shootings in Minneapolis.

There were 27 people shot and two children killed at Annunciation Catholic Church and School on Aug. 27. Police said the shooter died by suicide at the scene.

The day before, a man was killed and six people were injured in a shooting outside Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. A man has been charged.

On the morning of Sept. 15, five men were shot near Lake Street and Stevens Avenue and one of the men later died at the hospital. That night, seven people were injured by gunfire at an encampment near 28th Avenue and Lake Street and a woman died a few days later.

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By JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT, AP Transportation and Airlines Writers

The federal government shutdown has entered its second week, and already shortages of air traffic controllers have strained operations and disrupted flights at some U.S. airports.

Reagan National Airport became the latest this week to report delays because of staffing issues Wednesday. But earlier in the week there were problems at airports in Chicago, Newark, Denver and Nashville, and the tower even had to shut down in Burbank, California.

Experts, as well as union leaders representing air traffic controllers and security screeners, warn that the impact could grow significantly worse if the shutdown continues and employees start to miss paychecks.

A plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Harry Reid International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Here’s what to know about your rights as a passenger and what you can do if delays and cancellations start piling up:

Check before going to the airport

It is better to be stuck at home or in a hotel than to be stranded in an airport terminal, so use the airline’s app or flight websites to make sure that your flight is still on before heading to the airport. This FAA site can be checked to see if there are widespread delays at your airport.

Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, cautioned that it can be hard to get compensation when there are problems.

“In the United States, Americans have shockingly few rights as travelers. When things go wrong, it’s really left up to the airline industry to decide what it means to do right by customers,” Potter said.

My flight was canceled. Now what?

If you are already at the airport, it is time to find another flight. Get in line to speak to a customer service representative, and call or go online to connect to the airline’s reservations staff. It also helps to reach out on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, because airlines might respond quickly there.

Airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge. The good news right now is that this is not a peak travel time, so travelers stand a better chance of finding seats. But the busy holiday season is right around the corner with Thanksgiving next month and Christmas in December. At those peak times, passengers might have to wait days for a seat on a new flight.

Can I ask to be booked on another airline?

You can, but airlines aren’t required to put you on another carrier’s flight. Some airlines, including the biggest ones except Southwest and the discount airlines, say they can put you on a partner airline, but even then it’s often hit or miss. Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir.com, has recommended researching alternate flights while you wait to talk to an agent.

Am I owed a refund?

If you no longer want to take the trip, or have found another way of getting to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money, even if you bought a non-refundable ticket. It doesn’t matter why the flight was canceled.

“If the airline cancels your flight, you can say, ‘Alright. I will take a refund and get my money back,’ ” Potter said. “The important piece is that you get your payment returned to you. You’re not just settling for an airline voucher that may expire in a year or less.”

You are also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras that you didn’t get to use.

Can I get compensation?

U.S. airlines are not required to pay additional cash compensation and cover lodging and meals for passengers who are stranded, even if a flight cancellation is the airline’s fault.

The Biden administration proposed a rule that would have changed that and required airlines to pay passengers for delays and cancellations in more circumstances. But the Trump administration scrapped that last month and the airlines praised him for doing so.

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Travel insurance might help if you bought a policy when you booked or used a travel credit card that offers that product. But Potter said you shouldn’t assume you will be covered even if you do have insurance. Check the fine print to see if you are covered in situations like this when a shortage of workers causes problems.

What airlines will cover

Each airline has its own policy. The U.S. Department of Transportation has a site that lets consumers see the commitments that each airline makes for refunds and covering other expenses when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

Other tips

If lots of flights are canceled, airline agents will soon be swamped. If you are in a group and one person belongs to a higher level of the airline’s frequent-flyer program, use the number associated with that person to call the airline. You also can try calling your airline’s international help number — usually available online — because those agents can make changes in your itinerary too.

Be nice. The agent you’re talking to is probably dealing with other frustrated travelers, too, and screaming at the agent won’t make them want to help you. The cancellation isn’t their fault.

Consider other options

If these problems do become more widespread, you could consider whether it makes sense to travel by train or car or bus instead, but there’s really no way to predict when and where a staff shortage might happen. And the ongoing shortage of controllers is so critical that even a small number of absences can cause problems.

Potter said the shutdown is different from when a single airline is having problems and travelers can just pick another airline. This is creating problems for entire airports at once.

“This is the entire airport-airline infrastructure,” Potter said. “As these problems expand and spread the longer the shutdown drags on, it’s unlikely that there will be one airline running on time if the rest of the them are failing. It’s going to affect the entire system over time.”

A 22-year-old Forest Lake man who officials say posed as a teen to enroll and attend classes at White Bear Lake Area High School last month allegedly received nude photos from one girl, and several parents reported possible sexual assaults, according to a search warrant affidavit.

A Washington County judge signed off on a search warrant for the man’s phone on Oct. 1, the same day he was booked into the county jail for violating probation in July in a 2023 case in which he sent a 15-year-old girl a nude picture of himself through Snapchat.

The affidavit, written by a White Bear Lake investigator and filed in court Monday, says the mother of a girl who attends the high school reported Sept. 29 that her daughter recognized a jail booking photo that was circulating on Snapchat.

The mugshot was of a 22-year-old man with a different name than what he went by at school. The report led to an immediate investigation by both the school district and police.

Multiple girls have come forward to report that the man had been communicating with them through text messages and social media, the affidavit said.

“A school resource officer is following up with an allegation that (the man) received nude photos from a juvenile female,” the affidavit continued.

The court document did not provide details into the parents’ reports of “possible sexual assault incidents” involving the man.

The police investigator wrote the man’s phone “will contain texts, social media messages and photos that would likely show evidence of (criminal sexual conduct), soliciting a minor and child pornography crimes.”

The phone also could include cellphone location data “further providing evidence into some of these incidents,” the affidavit said.

The man was enrolled in the district from Sept. 3 to 29, the day after he was arrested on warrants from a past theft conviction in Anoka County and the probation violation.

The Pioneer Press is not naming the man because he has not been charged with any crimes relating to his time as a high school student.

Last week, White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager said the man is under investigation for fraud, forgery and unlawful conduct involving interaction with minors.

White Bear Lake Area Schools Superintendent Wayne Kazmierczak said in an email to families the man skirted around the enrollment process by claiming he was a homeless youth and by using a birth certificate from another country that indicated he was 18.

Kazmierczak said the man certified on district forms that he was a homeless unaccompanied youth, a designation that requires school districts to follow the McKinney Vento Act. The federal law mandates the immediate enrollment of eligible students even if they cannot provide standard documentation such as academic records, immunization or proof of residency.

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The birth certificate, which listed a phony name of Kelvin C. Perry Jr., included an authentic watermarking and official stamps/seals, according to Kazmierczak, adding there “was no indication that the document was anything less than authentic.”

The man also registered for football on Sept. 8 and participated in three practices, Kazmierczak said.

The man pleaded guilty to the probation violation on Oct. 2, according to court records, which do not disclose what the violation entailed. A judge then ordered him to complete three days of work service, and he was released from custody the same day.