❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. State Department revoked over 100,000 foreign visas in 2025, setting an all-time record.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The U.S. State Department, foreign nationals, and the Trump administration.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Throughout 2025, across the United States.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.” – State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott
🎯IMPACT: Stricter visa standards and increased enforcement of immigration rules under the Trump administration.
The U.S. State Department revoked more than 100,000 foreign visas in 2025, more than doubling the approximately 40,000 visas canceled in 2024 during the final year of former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to department data. The figure represents the highest number of visa revocations ever recorded, following an executive order on enhanced foreign vetting signed by President Donald J. Trump on his first day back in office.
Most of the revocations involved business and tourist visa holders who overstayed their authorized periods of stay. However, the action also affected roughly 8,000 students and 2,500 specialized workers. A State Department spokesman said many of these immigrants had criminal encounters with law enforcement, including arrests or charges for drunk driving, assault, battery, theft, and child abuse.
Among specialized workers, about half of the revocations stemmed from drunk driving arrests, while approximately 30 percent involved assault or unlawful confinement charges. The remaining cases included offenses such as theft, substance abuse, fraud, and embezzlement. Nearly 500 students lost their visas due to drug-related offenses, and hundreds of foreign workers were found to have abused children, according to the spokesman.
In August 2025, the Trump administration announced it would conduct a review of all 55 million foreign nationals holding valid U.S. visas as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight. Tommy Piggott, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesman, said at the time, “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.”
The administration also implemented stricter standards for visa eligibility. Officials said consular officers would deny visas to foreign nationals suspected of traveling to the United States to give birth in order to secure citizenship for their children. In guidance issued to U.S. embassies, the department stated, “U.S. consular officers will deny tourist visa applications if they believe the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for the child. This is not permitted.”
Health-based eligibility standards were expanded as well. New guidance allowed consular officers to consider chronic medical conditions, including obesity and other serious health issues, when determining whether an applicant could become a public charge by relying on taxpayer-funded benefits.
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