The number of foreigners visiting the United States for education or medical reasons has dropped considerably over the past two years. This according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor.

The numbers are expected to fall even more as the U.S. implements a new visa regulation that goes into effect today. From now on each of the roughly 8 million people who apply for visas annually must be interviewed in person at a U.S. embassy even if the nearest embassy is hundreds or thousands of miles away from where they live.

The Monitor reports foreign attendance at US English-language summer classes is down about 30 percent. The world-famous Mayo Clinic has seen the number of international patients drop almost by a quarter since 2001. Visa applications have dropped by about 2 million since 2001.