Koreans Top List of Foreign College Students in US
By The Korea Times

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ South Korean students account for the largest number of foreign students enrolled in U.S. universities, according to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.

As of September last year, there were 86,626 South Korean college students in the United States, or 13.5 percent of all foreign students, according to a tally by the department's investigative branch, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This is an increase from 73,272, or 12.5 percent, in December 2004.

India ranked second with 77,220 (12.1 percent), followed by China with 59,343 (9.3 percent) and Japan with 54,816 (8.6 percent).

There were also more than 52,000 South Korean dependents in the U.S. accompanying the students, according to the ICE survey.

South Korea hopes to be included next year in the U.S. visa waiver program, which would allow them to visit U.S. territory without visas for up to 90 days. Officials said once the program takes effect, the sheer number of visitors related to these students is likely to increase.

The ICE tally also showed 199 North Korean students currently studying in the U.S., ranking it 146th among 221 nations surveyed.

This is higher than 33 from Libya and 21 from Cuba. It is also more than the 82 from Iraq.
 

Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200604/kt2006042617084011990.htm