NEW DELHI: US pastures are a little less green for engineering graduates from top institutes.The number of students from Indian Institutes of Technology heading to the US in pursuit of Master’s and PhDs is falling, thanks to the Trump administration’s protectionist policies and increasing job opportunities at home. Officials, faculties and students ET spoke to at IITs put the drop at 20-30% in the past two years. They expect the flow to narrow further in the coming years. Indian students still flock to US universities. A late 2016 report by Institute of International Education’s Open Doors ranked India as the second largest — behind China — and the fastest growing in sending students to the US. But IIE data show a slowdown in the number of Indian-origin engineers moving to the US for higher studies: Pace of growth slowed to 19% in 2016 from 32% in 2015. When it comes to IITs, said the people ET spoke to, the numbers are shrinking.“Students are getting better opportunities back home. Also with the growing uncertainty on getting work visas for US, many students are discouraged,” said IIT-Kanpur deputy director Manindra Agrawal.The college has seen an up to 30% drop in students going to the US for higher studies in the last 2 years, he said. Students go to the US on F1 visas. Once they finish studies, they aim for the H-1B work visas. But with President Donald Trump’s push to give Americans priority over foreigners in jobs, getting a work visa post studies is becoming increasingly difficult. At the same time, the home market is opening up better job opportunities and salaries are increasing, too, encouraging them to stay.“Till about a couple of years ago, almost 30 students used to head to the US from each department. This has dropped significantly to a single digit this year,” said Amruthesh T, a final year chemical engineering student. Amruthesh, who is also part of the student placement cell at the institute, has been offered a scholarship by University of Pennsylvania for pursuing PhD (including Master’s) in chemical and bio-molecular engineering. He has taken up the offer.There is also the influence of the family on young engineers to stay home. They opt for lucrative offers after studies, instead of taking up technically challenging assignments due to pressure from parents, said Rajeev Sangal, director of IIT-BHU (Varanasi).Over the past year, IIT-Delhi has seen a significant drop in the number of students pursuing higher studies in the US, according to its director, V Ramgopal Rao. “Over last decade, the drop in number of students heading to the US would be about 50 to 60%,” said Rao. Most expect the trend to continue as long as the US pursues a protectionist policy.“The political environment is giving an unwelcoming message to the students. Many institutions are concerned about the anti-immigration rhetoric and its impact on international student perception for gaining future work opportunities through Optional Practical Training and H-1B visas,” said Dr Rahul Choudaha, chief executive of DrEducation, a US-based research and consulting firm specialising in international student trends.