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State Department Reports on Visas Revoked So Far This Term
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State Department Reports on Visas Revoked So Far This Term

The Trump administration has revoked more than 175,000 visas since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, according to the State Department, which says criminal activity, immigration abuse and national security concerns account for the sweeping number.

The State Department disclosed the figure Monday, providing another indication of how aggressively the administration is using existing visa authority as part of its broader immigration enforcement agenda.

“Under President Trump, the United States Department of State has revoked more than 175,000 visas from foreign nationals who violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against U.S. citizens, defrauded Americans, abused our immigration system, or endangered national security,” the department said in a statement to Fox News.


While some of those categories are likely to attract political attention, the department said the majority of revocations resulted from encounters with law enforcement involving criminal activity.

Assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offenses were among the leading reasons cited. The State Department also pointed to reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement among other offenses associated with visa revocations.

In other words, the administration's position is fairly straightforward: Permission to enter or remain in the United States on a visa does not guarantee that permission will continue regardless of what the visa holder subsequently does.


Secretary of State Marco Rubio made exactly that argument during a February news conference in Hungary.

“I’ve said this repeatedly. I don’t know why it’s so hard for some to comprehend it, so let me repeat it again,” Rubio said. “A visa — no one is entitled to a visa. There is no constitutional right to a visa.”

Rubio described a visa as permission granted by the United States to a foreign visitor, whether that person comes as a student, tourist, journalist or under another eligible category.


“If you enter our country as a visitor, as a visitor in our country — be it a student, a tourist, a journalist, whatever you want to be — and you undertake activities that are against the national interest, the national security of the United States, we will take away your visa,” he said.

“In fact, if we knew you were going to do it, we probably wouldn’t have given you your visa.”

The State Department also disclosed another notable use of that authority: A U.S. embassy in North Africa revoked more than 100 visas belonging to parents accused of engaging in “birth tourism.”

Birth tourism generally refers to foreign nationals traveling to the United States primarily so a child will be born on American soil and obtain U.S. citizenship.

Written by Arthur Higgens - August 11, 2026