Two weeks ago, a student in Chennai asked me if she should study music or engineering. Her question exposed a truth we avoid: we've built an international education system where every stakeholder profits from student passivity, except the students themselves. Private equity owns platforms. Agents work off commission. Universities measure success in enrollment numbers, not student fulfillment. It's time to name the problem and reclaim student agency in global education.

From application fees and SEVIS payments to administrative processing, visa interviews, and the uncertainty at the border, studying in the United States demands courage and cash. This reflection traces the real costs of a travel ban and urges campuses to meet students with empathy.

After Harvard’s SEVP certification was revoked, I argue for rehabilitation over fear. Build quiet consortia, invest in in-house immigration expertise, prepare leadership, document the chilling effects on F and J students, and publish transparent plans. Stop leaning on dollar figures; commit to mutuality, belonging, and coordinated action.

We over-index on the dollar figure and ignore the human one. Across the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US, restrictive policies and revenue dependence are narrowing the story of mobility. This essay argues for reciprocity, transparency, and student dignity beyond the balance sheet.

U.S. law presumes every F-1 applicant plans to immigrate, then we ask graduates to stay. That contradiction, rooted in 214(b), costs talent and credibility. I trace the policy logic, compare Canada, the U.K., and Australia, and sketch reforms universities can champion without reducing students to revenue.

From my Junction 91 talk in New Delhi, this piece maps India–US collaborative degrees: what twinning, dual, and joint programs mean, what NEP 2020 enables, where UGC and accreditors get involved, and a practical path to build equitable, durable partnerships.