^Actually, international students are judged “by region”. There’s no quota, but there has to be a balance between “regions” so that applying from an over-represented region, such as China, India, or South Korea, would make admission more competitive, especially since many students from these countries apply to the same schools instead of spreading out over the country, focus on USNWR or QS rankings, and/or have had intense test preparation. In addition, provisions would be made -especially at need-blind or meet full need schools - for a kid from Dharavi vs. kid who attended Shri Ram since one would have had way more advantages and opportunities than the other, and would thus be judged in relation to these opportunities. Need aware schools could also take that into account reversely.
India is a “region” on its own, because it is so large. “Western Europe” is another region, for example (or, in some cases, the UK/Ireland are together, and non-English speaking Europeans are together.) Balance within the class is essential, especially at al Top 25 universities and LACs.