The Higher Ed Immigration Portal provides a profile of undocumented, international, and other immigrant-origin students who are enrolled in higher education in the United States. The data featured on the Portal is derived from partner and contributor organizations and publicly available datasets. This page provides an overview of the sources used to populate the Portal’s national- and state-level data. Additional information about specific projects can be found in the relevant report appendices.
Immigrant-Origin Students in Higher Education
The central source for immigrant-origin students in U.S. higher education is the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) October 2000 and 2023 Supplement. To construct a profile of immigrant-origin students who are in the United States for reasons other than temporary study, the data excludes international students who are in the U.S. on non-immigrant student visas. To calculate the share of international students enrolled in 2000, our team used data from the Institute of International Education (IIE), excluding those on Optional Practical Training. To calculate the share of international students enrolled in 2023, our team used estimates provided by the American Immigration Council. These shares are subtracted from the total foreign-born population in U.S. higher education to construct the profile of immigrant-origin students featured on the Portal and in our reports.
Immigrant-generation by institutional type. Source is the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study: 2020 Undergraduate Students (NPSAS:UG). See NPSAS methodology here: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/about.asp
International Students in Higher Education
Total international enrollments are taken from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Data Mapping Tool. This tool is updated frequently and represents the most complete and current source of data on international students studying at postsecondary institutions certified by SEVIS to host international students. The data cited on the Portal includes Associates, Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate level SEVIS records. Data on the Portal does not include international students in vocational programs, primary/secondary school, flight school, or language training. Current figures were calculated using data from October 2025.
Beyond overall enrollments, additional data and information on international students in the U.S. is taken from the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors Report on International Exchange. This report is developed in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. The Open Doors report contains detailed information on aspects such as where international students study in the U.S., their academic majors, top host institutions, and international students’ primary sources of funding. It should be noted that SEVIS and Open Doors numbers are not directly comparable, as they cover different time periods: SEVIS data is typically more current, while the Open Doors data is lagged by a year but offers more comprehensive information on international students in the U.S.
Data on the economic benefits of international students is obtained from NAFSA and includes international students’ economic contributions, including jobs created, by state and nationally.
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
OPT retention rates were calculated using data compiled by the Institute for Progress (IFP) for the OPT Observatory project. IFP obtained the microdata featured on the Observatory and used to calculate figures on the Portal from the Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which provided detailed information on OPT participation from 2006-2022. Data featured on the Portal reflect OPT participation from 2008-2022.
The Portal’s state pages feature several OPT data points:
- “OPT Participants from State’s Institutions” refers to all OPT participants enrolled in an institution in the state under consideration, regardless of where they are employed.
- “Annual OPT Retention Rate” refers to the proportion of students who participate in OPT in the same state where they attended school.
- “OPT Retention Rate Range, 2008-2022 (highest and lowest)” reflects the highest and lowest annual retention rate achieved by the state within the stated time period.
Undocumented Students in Higher Education
Using the microdata of the 1-year sample from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS), we first apply the methodological approach outlined by Harvard University economist George Borjas to identify the subset of the immigrant population that is likely to be undocumented students in postsecondary education. We then use a set of criteria to identify potential international students based on factors such as school attendance, grade level, age, length of stay in the United States, and hours worked, and further exclude them from the group to arrive at our estimates about undocumented students. Additional information can be found here.
Since DACA-eligible students are a subset of the total undocumented student population, we apply the guidelines for DACA from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to ACS microdata to restrict our data and distinguish DACA-eligible students from non-eligible students.
All Students in Higher Education
The source for the total number of students in higher education at the national and state level reflects fall 2021 data from the “Table 303.10. Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by attendance status, sex of student, and control of institution: Selected years, 1947 through 2031″ datasheet from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Undocumented High School Graduates
Estimates of undocumented high school graduates were derived using augmented 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) data. Most of the estimate comprises undocumented students in school who were 16 years old in 2021 and 18 in 2023. An additional, smaller number of those aged 17 to 19 in 2021 who may be graduating at ages 19 to 21 in 2023, adjusted for previous school participation trends of undocumented students, was added to the total eligible number of undocumented high school seniors in 2023. Additionally, undocumented minors paroled into the U.S. since 2021, mostly as asylum seekers, and of likely high school senior age in 2023 (ages 18 to 21) were included in estimates. Finally, total eligible seniors were downwardly adjusted by the average, national graduation rate of high school seniors to obtain a more precise estimated number of undocumented high school graduates.
All Immigrants in the U.S. and Immigrant Workers Filling Critical Skills Needs
Analysis and estimates produced by the American Immigration Council using various publicly available datasets. These include microdata from the American Community Survey (ACS), downloaded from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) database. As of February 25, 2025, the data reflects analysis of the 2023 ACS microdata. You can learn more here.
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Please do not hesitate to contact us (portal@presidentsalliance.org) if you have any questions.