Students from China 'welcome' at US colleges

State Department official says efforts are smoothing path back to campuses

A senior US State Department official said that efforts are being made to reduce barriers and cut waiting times for Chinese applying for student visas after enrollments from China dropped in the 2021-22 school year.

The number of students from China — the top place of origin among international students in the United States — was nearly 9 percent below that of the previous year.

The decline was 15 percent in the 2020-21 school year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.