SEVP quarterly report on international students studying in US

The status of international students, exchange visitors and their dependents living in the US is tracked by the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a web-based system maintained by the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). SEVP has released their quarterly report, also known as “SEVIS by the numbers,” which provides a snapshot of data about international students studying in the US. Here is a summary of the reported data, as of July 8, 2014:

• There are 966,333 F & M students currently studying in the United States at nearly 9,000 schools. (The numbers are down 5% from April, but up 8% in comparison to July 2013).

• There are currently 232,988 J-1 exchange visitors in the United States.

• 75% percent of all F & M students in the United States are from Asia, with 28% percent of those, originating from China (about 271,000).

• China is the #1 country of citizenship for international students.  India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil, round out the top 10.

• 72% percent of all F & M students are enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs.

• Since April 2014, there was a 26% percent decrease in the number of all F & M students enrolled in secondary school degree programs; however, compared to July 2013, there was a ten percent increase.

• About 344,000 F & M students pursued study in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States, with 85% percent of all F & M STEM students in the United States originating from Asia.

• Engineering is the top field of study for international students.

• California, New York, and Florida had the most SEVP-certified schools (certification is necessary to enroll international students).

• The University of Southern California has the most international students, with Purdue University, the University of Illinois, New York University and Columbia University, rounding out the top five, respectively.

SEVIS is important to ensure that all interested government branches (including Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, etc.) can effectively monitor the nearly one million F, M, & J nonimmigrant international students studying in the US, as well as their dependents. The system is also used to certify schools and programs which enroll these students, all with the goal of protecting national security and ensuring that all visiting students and their families, as well as the participating institutions, are in compliance with the rules. Comprehensively, SEVIS is critical to helping things to run more smoothly.

Sharma Law Offices, LLC is a highly rated boutique immigration law firm for F-1 students operating out of Atlanta, Georgia and represents clients throughout the United States.