The number of international students being hosted by the US has surpassed one million for the third consecutive year, but new student enrolments fell by 6.6%, the latest data from Open Doors has revealed.

Many US higher education institutions report international enrolments declines and while considering the interplay of factors such as rising fees and global competition, many attribute the challenges to the political environment, a new report by WES has found.

The Trump administration is considering placing visa restrictions on Chinese students and scholars coming to the US – a move described by CEO of NAFSA Esther Brimmer as potentially "devastating".

The number of US students studying abroad in 2015/2016 increased by 4% on the previous year, with destinations in the UK, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany coming in as top host countries.

Latest Open Doors data reveals second year of the US hosting more than 1 million international students but a decline of 10,000 enrolments recorded in new enrolments in fall 2016. Industry value overall is $39 billion.

More than one million international students studied in the United States in 2015/16, a 7% increase on last year’s enrolments, driven mostly by undergraduate Chinese students.

Executive Director of NAFSA, Marlene M Johnson, has used new data underlining the US$30.5 billion contribution of international education to the USA to call for common-sense immigration reform.

International students and their dependents contributed $26.8 billion to the US economy and around 340,000 jobs were created or supported by the international education industry in the last academic year, according to an analysis by NAFSA, a leading industry body.