US State Department Revokes Over 250,000 Visas Since Trump Took Office
- The State Department confirmed it has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Trump returned to office
- Revocations covered crimes, national security threats, birth tourism, and abuse of the asylum system
- On Monday, 27 Latin American officials and their families lost their visas over corruption accusations
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The United States State Department has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, marking what officials describe as a historic level of enforcement targeting those who violate immigration rules or pose a threat to the country.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed the figure, saying the milestone reflects the administration's focus on protecting American citizens.
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"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 said. "A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right — and if you violate the terms of that privilege, you will lose it."
Why the visas were revoked
Reasons for revocation ranged widely. A State Department official told Fox News Digital that violations included criminal activity, calls for violence against the United States or Americans, fraud, national security risks, and exploitation of the immigration system.
Around 2,300 of those revocations were tied to birth tourism, where pregnant foreign nationals travel to the US specifically to deliver their babies on American soil and secure automatic citizenship for the child.
In August, the department revoked more than 175,000 visas in a single sweep. Most of those were linked to encounters with law enforcement, with assault, driving under the influence, theft, and drug offences listed as the leading causes. Other revocations in that batch covered reckless driving, sexual assault, fraud, and embezzlement.
Latin American officials also targeted
On Monday, the State Department cancelled the visas of 27 current and former Latin American officials and their family members, citing corruption. Those affected are from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Separately, over the summer the Trump administration began preparing to cancel B1 and B2 visas held by up to 200,000 foreigners who entered the US as visitors but later filed for asylum.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Americans were "fed up" with what he called "bogus asylum claims," arguing that the asylum process was never intended to serve as a workaround for standard immigration laws.
He noted that large volumes of frivolous applications had overwhelmed the system, with cases sometimes taking years to resolve.
See the X post below:
US releases an advisory for visa holders
Legit.ng earlier reported that the US Mission Nigeria has issued a public advisory reminding visa holders and applicants that receiving a visa does not mean scrutiny has ended.
In a post shared on X on 28 September 2026, the mission made clear that vetting is not a one-time event tied to the moment of application or interview. According to the advisory, applicants are screened at every stage of the process, including before, during, and after consular adjudication.
Source: Legit.ng
