Also, in case foreigners get accepted to YC, will it be more difficult than before to be able to stay in the USA for the duration of the program?
The fear is enormous, but the actual changes are small, ergo, could be easier to get a visa now.
For college enrollment decline: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/us/fewer-foreign-students...
https://twitter.com/FitzGeraldUCSD/status/955139776901869568
Trump is mostly talk.
Apart from these actual, specific challenges, emigrating is a huge step for most people. The general hostility against "strangers" would definitely make me think twice about moving to the US today, even though I once spent a year in the Southwest and had a wonderful time.
Just dealing with customs officers at the airport has become a nightmare over the last decade: Being fingerprinted like a criminal is the most obvious change. But I've lately noticed that the attitude more and more resembles the thuggishness usually associated with police states. They have always had all the power, but lately they seem to relish to show it to you. Need 10 seconds to find your flight number? "Go to the back of the line, NOW, and try again with the respect the greatest country on the face of the earth deserves". (actual quote).
[1] For the USA for example, Canadians visiting for business or tourism (an implied B1 or B2 visa, respectively), are exempt from fingerprinting. Canada is the only exception to the USA's fingerprinting rules.
Anyway, YC never threw Thiel under the bus so maybe they can call in a favor if things get dicey?
What would wreck YC is if potential foriegn applicants actually listened to the FUD and then decided not to apply.