The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, according to the Open Doors report.

India is No. 1 again, in sending  1,03,260 students to USA. According to the Open Doors 2009 report, India has sent more than one lakh students to USA for the academic year 2008-09. The Indian numbers went up 9.2 per cent from 94,563 in 2007/2008 to cross 100,000 for the first time to retain its position as the top place of origin for international students in the US. China remained in second place, although there was a sharp 21 per cent spike in students from China, going up from 81,127 last Academic Year to 98,235 this year. South Korea (increased from 69,000 to 75,065) remained in third place.

This is the eighth consecutive year that India has remained in the top spot. Indian student inflow contributed nearly $ 3 billion to the US economy in 2008. Overall, international students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy.

The largest growth this year was seen in undergraduate enrolments, which increased by 11%, compared to a 2% increase in graduate enrolments. According to Open Doors 2009, universities in California hosted the largest number of foreign students with 93,124, up 10%, followed by New York with 74,934, up 7%, and Texas with 58,188, up 12%.

For the eighth consecutive year, University of Southern California hosted the largest number of international students, this year reporting 7,482. New York University held in second place with 6,761 international students and Columbia University hosted 6,685, displacing Texas A & M University (College Station). Rounding out the top five 2008/09 host institutions are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (6,570 students) and Purdue University (6,136 students).