The U.S. has revoked 85,000 visas since January 2025
One of the largest cancellation drives, with more than 8,000 of them being student visas
The Trump administration has intensified immigration and national-security screening
The United States has revoked 85,000 visas since January 2025, the State Department announced on December 10, 2025. This marks one of the largest visa-cancellation drives in recent years and underscores the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement and national-security screening.
In a statement posted on X, the department said: “85,000 visa revocations since January. President Trump and Secretary Rubio adhere to one simple mandate, and they won’t stop anytime soon.” The post also featured an image of Trump with the slogan “Make America Safe Again,” reinforcing the administration’s security-focused messaging.
According to CNN, a senior State Department official said more than 8,000 of the revoked visas were student visas, over twice the number in 2024. The most common grounds for cancellation were DUIs, assaults, and theft, which together accounted for nearly half of all revocations. These individuals were described as posing “a direct threat” to community safety.
Officials said other cancellations stemmed from visa overstays, criminal concerns, and suspected extremist ties. The administration has also expanded continuous vetting to all 55 million foreign nationals with valid visas, allowing revocations whenever new information appears.
The crackdown accompanies other major policy moves: the US has paused immigration from 19 previously restricted countries, re-examined green card applications from “countries of concern,” halted asylum decisions, and suspended visas for Afghans who assisted US forces.
Last week, the administration also announced it would pause immigration — including green card and citizenship processing — for 19 non-European countries already under partial travel bans, citing national-security and public-safety concerns.
The list includes countries such as Afghanistan and Somalia. The new policy memo links the decision to last week’s attack in Washington, where an Afghan national was arrested for allegedly shooting two U.S. National Guard members, killing one and critically injuring the other.
Large-scale visa revocations are not unprecedented, but the 2025 numbers highlight Washington’s heightened focus on public-safety assessments and national-security screening across all visa categories.
[Rh]
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