The department’s spokesman says the administration has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any before it. The count stood at more than 175,000 on Aug. 10.
Data as of Oct. 21, 2026, 7 AM ET (State Department figures announced Oct. 20)
The number of visas revoked since President Trump returned to office in January 2025 has passed 300,000, according to the State Department, which announced the figure on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
“With over 300,000 revocations, the Trump administration has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott wrote on X. “Let the message be clear: we have zero tolerance for foreigners here on visas who break the law, commit fraud, or undermine our national security.”
The State Department’s announcement did not include a breakdown by nationality. The New York Post, which first reported the number, said the nationalities of those affected were “not immediately clear.”
How the count has grown
The State Department has announced the running total several times this year:
- Jan. 12, 2026: more than 100,000 visas, “including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas for individuals who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity,” the department posted on X.
- Aug. 10, 2026: more than 175,000 visas, according to a State Department fact sheet.
- Sept. 30, 2026: more than 250,000 visas, the department posted on X.
- Oct. 20, 2026: more than 300,000 visas, per Pigott.
Reuters reported that the number “showed an acceleration in the pace of visa revocations in recent weeks.”
Why visas were revoked
A State Department official told the New York Post that the revocations were a consequence of criminal activity, threats to public safety, or immigration violations such as fraud or misrepresentation. At least 4,000 visas were revoked from foreign nationals “who engage in or facilitated birth tourism,” the official said. At the Sept. 30 count, the department had put that number at 2,300, Fox News reported.
Birth tourism is the practice of traveling to the United States to give birth so the child receives U.S. citizenship. The August fact sheet said a U.S. embassy in North Africa had revoked more than 100 visas for “birth tourist” parents “who came to the United States primarily to give birth so their children would get U.S. citizenship.”
The Post reported that a quarter of the visas revoked in 2025 were for assaults or related crimes, 22% for driving under the influence, 7% for theft and 7% for substance abuse or distribution. Al Jazeera, citing a State Department official, reported the same percentages without limiting them to 2025.
The August fact sheet said most revocations at that point followed “law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity, with assault, driving under the influence, theft, and drug crimes being the leading causes.” It credited the department’s “continuous vetting operations, which ensure that visa recipients abide by the terms of their visa and do not endanger Americans.”
The fact sheet also listed individual cases, including a foreign national “charged with felony kidnapping, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation of a minor” and one “arrested for driving with heroin and a blood alcohol level more than 3x the legal limit.”
“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” the department said in the fact sheet.
Part of a wider enforcement push
The visa numbers arrive alongside other federal enforcement data. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 98,708 southwest border apprehensions in fiscal 2026, which CBP called the lowest level in agency history, as Politics Elections reported.
Pigott’s post also said, “We are taking, and will continue to take, action to keep our borders, and our nation, secure.”
The State Department announced the figures two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.