In the long term, there is little doubt that US higher education will remain extremely attractive to foreign talent, due to the academic quality of a large number of its research universities; the legacy of a relatively open society for immigrants; and America's still strong, if slightly tarnished, reputation as a land of opportunity. However, a closer look at shifting higher education markets, and at the possible impact upon those markets from the evolving global recession, provides a more nuanced perspective for policymakers. In sum, there are already signs that the world market for student talent is shifting to the benefit of the US's competitors, and in bad economic times people may find that shift accelerating. Currently the US remains a good performer in attracting the world's growing cadre of international students to its graduate and professional schools, although it could do much better and its once dominant position is eroding. But it is an underperformer at the first-degree level when compared to its competitors. And perhaps most importantly, the U.S. lacks a strategic approach to capitalizing on the global pool of mobile students. So what has changed? Two macro-trends help explain the shift: growing demand and increased competition. Attracting and enrolling international students at the first-degree and graduate levels will require federal, state, and institutional partnerships. The authors suggest that the federal government develop national strategic goals for international student enrollments at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and link them to broader policy objectives in areas such as foreign relations, national economic development, and educational attainment. (Contains 5 figures.)