International Education News – January 2026

Posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 at 4:14 pm

While you were hopefully taking a break during the holidays, the news did not rest! As always, there is a lot going on that impacts the world of international education, and it’s our goal with this section to provide you with a brief summary of the top IE news of the month. Some of it may be major, some of it you may have missed, and some of it–we hope–will even be encouraging.

Starting with the encouraging bit, a new resource for advisors and students has launched: the International Student Resource Center, spearheaded by the incredible IE leader, Robin Catmur, and established by the immigration nonprofit, Talent Mobility Fund. This web-based resource hub fills a long-lasting gap in the IE world by offering up-to-date US immigration information, connection to immigration attorneys, and a help desk for students to make immigration inquiries and get expert responses. The ISRC is intended to complement the work of DSOs and AROs, making live and accurate information more readily available to both advisors and students. 

In their latest news update email, the ISRC highlighted the proposed changes to the Duration of Status rule, which, if published as proposed, would dramatically impact the international student experience in the United States. To read ISRC Review of the changes as proposed, click here.

Another change that will impact the international student experience–albeit more tangentially–is the H1-B overhaul, taking effect in February 2026. Since 1990, the H1-B program has operated as a lottery, providing 85,000 total jobs to those who apply with a sponsoring company. Most H1-B visa holders work in STEM fields, with the majority holding computer-related positions (AIC). The changes, submitted as final rule on December 23, 2025, include ending the lottery program and replacing it with a weighted selection process based on skill and experience as well as increasing the fee employers pay to sponsor H1-B visas by 20 times (from $2,000-$5,000 per petition to $100,000 per petition). Critics argue that the US doesn’t produce enough STEM graduates on its own to support the job market that H1-B visas and international students help to fill. And, “what’s more, the change is likely to contribute to the declining appeal of the US among prospective international students who increasingly cite work experience and job opportunities as a primary factor shaping study decisions” (https://thepienews.com/trump-overhauls-h-1b-visa-system-to-favour-higher-earners/). 

Lastly, 20 new countries have been added to the current administration’s “travel ban” list, including Nigeria–which is in the top 10 of sending nations for the US’s international student population. The ban does exempt existing visa holders, but no new student visas will be issued to Nigerian nationals beginning January 1, 2026. Other countries on the list include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, and Palestine, with Angola, Antigua and Barbude, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe facing partial restrictions (including no issuance of student and exchange US visas) (https://thepienews.com/trump-adds-20-countries-to-us-travel-ban/).

From our world to yours, that’s the latest from international education this month.