There are early signs that international student enrollment in the U.S. may be declining. New survey data from the Association of International Educators, or NAFSA, shows a 13% dip in postgraduate program enrollment for the upcoming academic year.

Visa issues and other government policies are the top reason NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw said they’re seeing a decline in international enrollment.

“The uncertainty that international students currently in the U.S. have experienced has had a ripple effect on prospective students and how they're looking to the U.S.,” she said.

International students tend to be postgraduates, often in STEM fields. Trevor Thornton, a professor of electrical engineering at Arizona State University, teaches several students entering careers in semiconductors.

“They're getting interviews at these companies, getting jobs at these companies, but there's a lot of fear,” he said. “The ones who are a year behind them are wondering what they're going to be doing a year from now.”

At Cornell, where students have dealt with visa revocations, vice provost for international affairs Wendy Wolford said that interest in the school remains strong for now. But “if there were more severe actions and more chaos in the immigration landscape, I think that could have a real effect.”

She added that these students bring dollars, innovation and talent to the U.S.