The United States Department of State has canceled more than 6,000 student visas during 2025 for overstays, violations of the law, and support for terrorism.
The US Embassy in Tirana has shared information confirmed by US media. In its post, the embassy emphasizes that: “Every student visa canceled under the Trump Administration has occurred because the individual either violated the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States.”
According to Fox News, the Trump administration has launched numerous initiatives aimed at restricting immigration and revoking visas for students attending academic institutions in the U.S. Students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests have been the subject of increased scrutiny. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that the administration was reviewing the visa status of these students.
The roughly 6,000 visas that were revoked were mostly due to overstaying their visas or run-ins with the law, including assault, drunk driving, burglary and support for terrorism, the State Department told Fox News. A senior State Department official explained: “Every student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has occurred because the individual either violated the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States.”
According to the official, about 4,000 visas were revoked for violations of the law while in the U.S., including assaults, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Approximately 800 students lost their visas due to involvement in assaults, facing arrest or charges. Meanwhile, 200–300 people lost their visas for supporting terrorism, including activities such as fundraising for the militant group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the State Department.
In total, the State Department reported that about 40,000 visas were revoked in 2025, compared with 16,000 during the same period under the Biden administration. One official added: “Even if the previous administration was doing less, they were still revoking visas. This is not something that just started on January 20th… So this has been going on for years.”
Rubio told lawmakers in May that he estimated that “thousands” of student visas had been canceled since January, adding: “I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do. We will continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education institutions.”
However, Democrats have opposed the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke visas, arguing that it violates due process. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, said: “I think it’s a fundamental attack on liberty, because due process is the gatekeeper to keep a government from taking people’s lives or their liberty, and liberty is what happens when you revoke a visa without due process.”
Student visas allow individuals outside the U.S. to study for a specified period of time at an academic institution and are different from a green card, which gives individuals already in the U.S. the opportunity to stay in the country for a longer period and for various purposes.
The crackdown on student visas is in line with several executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in January aimed at protecting the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security threats, as well as combating anti-Semitism. One of the executive orders directed the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the attorney general and the director of national intelligence to “inspect and screen to the maximum extent possible all aliens seeking admission to, entering, or already within the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.”
Another executive order signed by Trump required the US to use “all available and appropriate legal means to prosecute, remove, or hold accountable perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”
