EXCLUSIVE — The State Department has more than doubled the number of nonimmigrant visa revocations this year, citing a host of reasons ranging from drinking-and-driving offenses to terrorist activity.
A senior State Department official told the Washington Examiner that approximately 80,000 nonimmigrant visas have been revoked in 2025.
The most common grounds for these decisions have been “assault, theft, and driving under the influence,” they said.
Tommy Pigott, the department’s principal deputy spokesman, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the Trump administration “will not hesitate to revoke visas from foreigners who undermine our laws or threaten our national security.”
“Our message is clear: Entry to America is a privilege, not a right, and we will always put the safety and interests of the American people first,” he added.
Tightening the visa system and holding recipients to stricter standards of conduct has been a signature policy of the department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Approximately 16,000 visas have been pulled over incidents of driving under the influence, the Washington Examiner has learned. Roughly 12,000 have been revoked for assaults, and a further 8,000 for theft.
“These three crimes accounted for almost half of revocations this year,” a senior State Department official said.
They added: “The State Department revokes a visa any time there is an indication of a potential ineligibility, which includes things like indicators of an overstay, criminal activity, a threat to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.”
Of the 80,000 visas revoked, approximately 8,000 were student visas, the Washington Examiner has learned. This indicates 2,000 more student visa revocations than were reported in August.
The administration has sought to target specifically foreign nationals at U.S. universities who publicly express support for Hamas, hostility toward the United States, or other sentiments opposed to American interests.
Last month, the department published a series of case studies on foreign nationals who had their visas revoked over comments made about activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination in September.
People from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay, and South Africa were stripped of their visas for making public remarks that denigrated the late political organizer. Examples of statements that prompted the decision included saying he “deserves to burn in hell” and “died by his own rules.”
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Officials characterized these public statements as a betrayal of American hospitality and celebration of a U.S. citizen’s assassination.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” a statement from the department said. “Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed.”
