U.S. revokes 100,000+ visas since Trump took office
U.S. authorities have revoked more than 100,000 visas since Republican President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the State Department said on Monday, releasing what it described as an unprecedented figure for a single year of any presidential term.
“Protecting American citizens and upholding U.S. national sovereignty are absolute priorities of the Trump administration,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
The number of visas revoked since Jan. 20, 2025, is about two-and-a-half times higher than the total announced in 2024, when Democrat Joe Biden was president.
According to the State Department, “thousands” of visas were canceled due to offenses including assaults and driving under the influence. The department also said that 8,000 of the revoked visas were student visas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously said he was satisfied with the cancellation of visas held by thousands of students who took part in protests against Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Rubio cited a law dating back to the McCarthy era, which allows visa applications to be denied or existing visas revoked in cases deemed contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests. Some of those decisions, however, were successfully challenged in court.
The Trump administration has also tightened screening procedures for visa applicants, including increased scrutiny of social media activity.
The measures form part of a broader crackdown on irregular migration, which Trump has made a central priority of his presidency.
The Department of Homeland Security said last month that the United States deported more than 605,000 people, while about 2.5 million others left the country voluntarily.
