The US State Department has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Fox News reported, citing a State Department official and spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
The latest figure is more than double the 100,000 visa revocations reported by the department in January. Around 2,300 of the revocations were linked to birth tourism. The State Department has not publicly released a detailed breakdown of the latest figure.
The visa revocations, according to the official, involved a range of violations, including breaches of visa terms, criminal activity, calls for violence against the US or Americans, fraud against Americans, misuse of the immigration system and threats to national security.
State Department says 250,000 visas revoked
“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,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital.
“Every visa decision is a national security decision. Through continuous vetting on a scale never seen before, we are identifying and removing those who commit crimes, support terrorism, defraud Americans, or abuse our immigration system,” Pigott added.
On Monday, the State Department revoked the visas of 27 Latin American officials, former officials and their family members over corruption allegations. The officials were from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Up to 200,000 visas could face revocation
The Trump administration had also started preparing over the summer to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who had applied for asylum in the US.
The move would target B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreigners who later sought asylum.
At the time, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Americans were “fed up” with “bogus asylum claims.”
“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbour for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,’” Landau wrote on X.
Landau also said frivolous asylum claims had overwhelmed the system. He noted that it could take years to decide whether applicants were eligible for asylum in the US.
Criminal cases account for many visa revocations
The State Department had already revoked more than 175,000 visas in August. Most of those cancellations followed encounters with law enforcement over different types of criminal activity.
Assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug-related crimes were among the main reasons for those revocations.
The agency also said a significant number of visas were revoked in cases involving reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud, embezzlement and other crimes.
Visa revocations rise sharply
The number of visa revocations has risen quickly over the past two years.
In 2024, the last year of the Joe Biden administration, the State Department revoked about 40,000 visas. By November 2025, the department said it had revoked around 80,000 non-immigrant visas since Trump’s return to office.
The total crossed 100,000 in January 2026, which the department described as a record. The figure included about 8,000 student visas and 2,500 visas held by specialised workers.
By August, the department had reported more than 175,000 visa revocations. Most of those cases followed encounters with law enforcement. The department also said a US embassy in North Africa had revoked more than 100 visas held by alleged “birth tourist” parents.