State Department says more than 250,000 visas revoked since Trump returned to office
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, calling the total a record as the administration expands continuous vetting of foreign nationals who already hold permission to travel to or remain in the United States.
The figure was first reported by Fox News and was echoed by the department, which posted a link to the report on its official X account. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the cancellations targeted visa holders accused of violating visa terms, committing crimes, calling for violence against the United States or Americans, defrauding U.S. residents, abusing the immigration system, or posing national-security risks.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, the State Department has now revoked more than 250,000 visas — a historic milestone that reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting the American people,” Pigott said. He added that “every visa decision is a national security decision” and that the department is conducting vetting “on a scale never seen before.” A visa, he said, is a privilege, not a right.
How the number grew
The 250,000 tally is a cumulative figure covering Trump’s second term, not a single mass cancellation. Earlier official snapshots showed the count rising in stages: about 85,000 by December 2025, more than 100,000 by January 2026, and more than 175,000 by August 2026. Officials said more than 100,000 visas were revoked in 2025 alone — more than double the roughly 40,000 revoked in 2024 under President Joe Biden — and that 2026 was on pace to exceed that annual total.
The department has not released a full public breakdown of the 250,000 cases by visa class, nationality, or whether holders were inside or outside the United States. Earlier statements said most revocations followed “law enforcement encounters,” with assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offenses among the leading cited causes. Officials have also pointed to overstays, fraud, sexual assault, child abuse and other charges. A January 2026 update said the total at that time included about 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas tied to law-enforcement encounters.
Among the latest cited cases were about 2,300 visas revoked in connection with birth tourism — travel by pregnant foreign nationals for the purpose of giving birth in the United States so a child obtains citizenship. The department has separately revoked visas of some foreign officials accused of corruption and of some people it said celebrated the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
What revocation does — and does not — mean
A visa revocation withdraws permission to enter or remain under that visa. It is not the same as a deportation. People already in the United States may lose lawful status and become subject to removal proceedings; people outside the country may be barred from traveling on that visa. The State Department has not said how many of the 250,000 former visa holders have left the country or been removed.
The campaign is part of a broader enforcement push that includes tighter screening of new applicants, social-media reviews, and a Continuous Vetting Center intended to recheck existing visa holders after they have already been approved. In August, the Associated Press separately reported that the administration was preparing a distinct action that could revoke B-1 and B-2 business and tourist visas of up to 200,000 people who later sought asylum — a potential one-time mass cancellation that officials said would be coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security and would likely face court challenges. That planned action is separate from the 250,000 cumulative total announced Wednesday.
Legal and political context
Critics, including some universities, immigrant-rights groups and civil-liberties lawyers, have argued that the administration has used visa cancellation not only against people with criminal records but also against speech and political activity, including campus protests over the war in Gaza. A federal judge in Boston last year found that a policy targeting some international students and scholars for ideological reasons was unconstitutional. The department has maintained that visas can be withdrawn when officials see indicators of ineligibility, including overstays, criminal activity, public-safety threats or support for terrorism.
Wednesday’s announcement did not include names, country-by-country totals, or an independent audit of the 250,000 figure. Those details, if released, would determine how much of the historic total reflects serious crime and national-security cases versus overstays, lesser offenses, or disputed speech-related cancellations.
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