Lot of the students coming from abroad on F1 visas aka student visas take out huge loans in their home countries if they don't come from very wealthy families; they pay out of state tuition, which at public universities in the US can be 2X to 4X relative to tuition for instate tuition, not counting the expenses of international travel. Actually, lot of the public universities (and also some of the privates) prefer having international students instead of local students so they can make more money, for instance USC, BU, etc.; education, like everything else, is a business after all - btw, nothing wrong with that as long as students get their money's worth (return on their time and money) by getting hired at market rates by companies, which are willing to sponsor them for H1B and eventually help them obtain permanent residency. Don't blame the F1 / H1b visa holders but blame the education institutions, employers (stock holders), USA's public policy, the congress ( voted in by US citizens), which makes the immigration / visa laws.