The US Department of State announced it has revoked more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, a significant increase compared to the prior administration. The department attributed the cancellations to foreign nationals who allegedly violated visa terms, committed crimes, made threats against Americans, engaged in fraud, abused the immigration system, or posed national security risks. According to the department, many revocations followed law enforcement encounters, with assault, drunk driving, theft, and drug offenses cited as leading causes.
The pace of visa revocations has accelerated substantially during Trump’s tenure. The Biden administration revoked approximately 40,000 visas in 2024, while Trump’s administration canceled more than 100,000 in 2025 alone. The monthly revocation rate has increased from roughly 8,000 in 2025 to more than 10,000 in 2026. The department did not provide a breakdown of how many revocations resulted from serious criminal charges versus lesser infractions such as visa overstays.
The cancellations have included cases involving political speech. A Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University had her visa revoked after co-authoring an opinion piece criticizing the university’s position on the Gaza conflict, though a judge later dismissed charges against her. The department also cited revocations of foreign nationals who made comments regarding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has designated additional foreign nationals as deportable on foreign policy grounds, including individuals connected to Cuban, Iranian, and Kuwaiti governments.
Immigration law experts have raised concerns about the revocation process. Adriel D Orozco of the American Immigration Council stated that combining foreign policy cases with routine traffic offenses and political speech allegations makes the aggregate figure difficult to assess and raises accountability questions. The State Department characterized the revocations as part of a continuous vetting system implemented last year that screens approximately 55 million visa holders for compliance with status conditions. Visa cancellations operate separately from deportations, which are handled by the Department of Homeland Security and have exceeded 605,000 since Trump took office.
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