US State Department has revoked over 175,000 visas since Trump returned to office

The US State Department this week released figures showing it has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Trump returned to office, a rate roughly four times higher than during Biden's last year, when about 40,000 visas were revoked. More than 100,000 were canceled in 2025 alone, and the monthly pace has risen from around 8,000 revocations in 2025 to over 10,000 this year.

The department says most revocations target foreign nationals who violated visa terms, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens or posed a national security risk. The leading causes include assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses, along with reckless driving, sexual assault and child abuse. It remains unclear how the total breaks down between serious crimes and lesser infractions such as overstaying a visa.

Political speech cases

Several revocations have touched on political expression. The best-known involves Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University whose visa was pulled after she co-wrote an opinion piece criticizing the university's stance on the Gaza war; she was detained before a judge dismissed the case, and she has since returned to Turkey. The department also canceled visas for several foreign nationals who commented on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has determined that a number of foreign nationals, including people linked to Cuba and Iran, are deportable on foreign policy grounds. A US embassy in north Africa canceled more than 100 visas held by parents accused of traveling to the US mainly so their children would be born American citizens.

Immigration law experts warn the revocations may be part of a broader push to shrink legal immigration while disclosing as little as possible about the reasoning behind decisions. Visa revocations are separate from deportations, which fall under the Department of Homeland Security, which has removed more than 605,000 people from the country since Trump took office.