New York: International student enrollment in the US last year showed a substantial increase with India sending more students compared to China in 2022, says a US immigration report.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s annual report, the number of students from China and India made Asia the most popular continent of origin. “Compared to the drop from calendar year 2020 to 2021, China sent fewer students in 2022 compared to 2021 (-24,796), while India sent more students (+64,300),” the report said.

In 2022, California hosted 225,173 international students -- the largest percentage of international students (16.5 per cent) of any US state, the report said, adding that all four regions in the country saw an increase in international student records from 2021 to 2022, with respective increases ranging from 8 to 11 per cent, the report said. There were 276,723 active exchange visitors in the country in 2022, compared to 240,479 active exchange visitors in 2021 -- a 15 per cent increase.

The total number of SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records for active F-1 and M-1 students was 1,362,157 in calendar year 2022 -- an increase of 10.1 per cent from calendar year 2021 and the largest number of records since calendar year 2019.

SEVIS is a web-based system that the Department of Homeland Security uses to maintain and manage information on non-immigrant students whose primary purpose for coming to the US is to study.

The number of international students enrolled at kindergarten through grade 12 (K12) schools increased 7.8 per cent from 2021 to 2022 (+3,887). No K-12 schools hosted more than 700 international students in calendar year 2022, similar to calendar year 2021.

The report further said that there were 117,301 pre- and post-completion optional practical training (OPT) students with both an employment authorisation document (EAD) and who reported working for an employer in calendar year 2022, compared to 115,651 in calendar year 2021, a 1.4 per cent increase.