Pause on student visas impacting prospective Utah high school students

LAYTON — For half of it's 30 years, Layton Christian Academy has welcomed students from 49 different countries. This fall however, its numbers may drastically change. Chris Crowder, Head of School at the academy said it stands to lose a large portion of its student body if a pause on new F-1 student visas by the Trump administration remains in place.

"Layton Christian Academy has anywhere from three to 400 international students a year," Crowder explained. "We have about 160 that currently have their visas, but the rest of those students are just basically shut out for now."

Among the students in the clear for the 2025-2026 school year is 17-year-old Fabiana Lopez from Peru, who will return for her second year, now as senior class president.

"I always wanted to come here to the U.S. since I was a child," Lopez said. "I just feel, kind of, sad because I love the cultures here."

Crowder said the Layton Christian Academy received notification of the pause on interviews for new F-1 visas from The Department of Homeland Security Tuesday. If it remains in place, the school could be greatly impacted, as international students typically make up more than half of its enrollment. Domestic enrollment is usually around 300. "We're looking right now how we'll adjust and we'll adjust somehow, but the impact on students and teachers could be severe," Crowder said. "We're looking at ways that we can come up with creative things to make this work, but our hope is that people will use their common sense and go, 'this is not good policy.'"

Crowder said he doesn't necessarily disagree with the Trump administrations aims in being more judicious in issuing student visas.

"One of the things I think they're trying to do is stop people who have come on a F-1 visa and are not using it for education, but they're using it to be activists or maybe they've, committed a crime," Crowder explained.

He however believes a blanket approach is not the right solution. "There's no accomplishment here. There's no purpose in stopping 15, 16-year-old kids coming to high school to experience America," Crowder said. "It's just creating ill will amongst people who might support the policy of cracking down on, those who shouldn't be here on an F1 visa."

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