State Department revoked 6,000 student visas in 2025
Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has confirmed that the U.S. State Department has revoked more than 6,000 student visas so far this year.
The State Department said that the visas were revoked primarily due to people who overstayed their visas, were charged with some crime such as assault, DUIs, burglary, or were engaged in "support for terrorism," Fox News, the BBC and CNN reported.
"Every single student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States," a senior State Department official told Fox News. "About 4,000 visas have been revoked because these visitors broke the law while visiting our country, including records of assaults and DUIs."
The BBC said that while the State Department didn't define what actions counted as "support for terrorism," some of the students notably targeted were known to have protested in support of Palestine or accused of anti-Semitic conduct.
Around 200 to 300 visa annulments were reportedly due to alleged terrorism as defined under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The State Department conveyed to its consulates and embassies in June that student visa applicants had to be vetted for "hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles." All visa candidates were also required to set their social media profiles to public, and anyone who appeared to have limited public access to their online presence could be seen as attempting to "evade or hide certain activity."
"Student visas, OK, are not a right," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month in an interview with the Eternal Word Television Network, or EWTN. "There is no constitutional right to a student visa. A student visa is something we decide to give you."
"And by the way, visas of every kind are denied every day all over the world," he continued. "As I speak to you now, someone's visa application to the U.S. is being denied. So, if I would have denied you a visa had I known something about you, and I find out afterwards that I gave you a visa and I found this out about you, why wouldn't I be able to revoke your visa?"
According to the State Department, nearly 401,000 F1, or student visas, were issued in fiscal year 2024, but that number is expected to drop for 2025, due to the new screening rules and a temporary pause on new visas that occurred earlier this year.
The Association of International Educators, or NAFSA, reported in July that it and the JB International education technology company had forecast that "recent actions such as visa bans and disruptions in visa interviews and processing could have a devastating effect on U.S. local economies."
The report predicts a possible 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, which would help lead to an overall 15% drop in enrollment for the fall, and could "deprive local economies of $7 billion in spending and more than 60,000 jobs."
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