Washington revoked more than 250,000 visas amid tighter immigration controls

The State Department has revoked more than 250,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to the White House, amid a broad crackdown on controls over foreigners seeking to enter or remain in the country, according to Fox News Digital reported, citing administration officials.

The revocations affect visa holders who, as a State Department official explained to the newspaper, violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, incited violence against the country or U.S. citizens, participated in fraud, abused the immigration system, or posed risks to national security.

Among the revoked documents are also 2,300 visas related to so-called "birth tourism," a practice in which foreign women travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News that the figure represents a "historic milestone" for the Trump administration and framed the revocations as part of a policy of ongoing vetting of visa holders.

Pigott stated that the government considers every visa-related decision to have implications for national security and warned that foreign nationals who violate the conditions of entry or stay in the United States may lose that benefit.

Revocations of visas for Latin American officials

The figure was released just days after the State Department revoked the visas of 27 current and former Latin American officials, as well as some of their family members, due to allegations related to corruption.

The measures affected citizens of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The administration had also begun over the summer to consider revoking B1 and B2 business and tourist visas for up to 200,000 foreign nationals who subsequently applied for asylum in the country, as part of a review of potential abuses of the immigration system.

Under Secretary of State Christopher Landau had at the time questioned asylum claims that the government considers unfounded and argued that this mechanism should be reserved for individuals who can demonstrate persecution on grounds covered by U.S. law.

The number rose rapidly

The volume of revocations also reflects the acceleration of this policy in recent months.

In August, the State Department had reported more than 175,000 revoked visas, many of them following incidents in which the visa holders had come into contact with law enforcement for crimes such as assault, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, theft, and drug-related offenses.

Revocations were also recorded in connection with reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud, and embezzlement, according to data provided by the State Department.

The figure far exceeds the 85,000 revoked visas that the State Department had reported in December 2025, when more than 8,000 of the revocations involved foreign students.

The policy is part of the Trump administration's ongoing review system, which allows for the reevaluation of foreign nationals even after they have received a U.S. visa.