International applicant here, and this is my second round applying (got 3 interviews this time around, none last year). I do have a Bachelors from the US, a Masters from the UK, and 2.5 years RA experience at NYU. My PI did mention that it's particularly hard for international students at NYU this time around because a lot of funding got slashed, so they've reduced their international student intake / interviews. Really a bummer.
To those who are applying from abroad who didn't get interviews, I'd suggest finding a RA position at a university in the US.. I think having LoR from here really really helps. Also, my stats aren't great. I have 0 pubs and 2 in prep, and didn't even do neuro for undergrad. I think it comes down to LoRs that people recognize, and then a lot of luck. At 2/3 of the places that I got an interview, I reached out to PI's for a meeting and had a half hour chat about their research and my interest in it. Sort of like a pre-interview.. and I think that that really helped put a face and a human behind a random application on a pile.