The Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 U.S. visas since President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025, the State Department announced on October 20, 2026.
The total represents a sharp increase from the more than 175,000 revocations reported on August 10. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the administration is targeting foreign nationals who break the law, commit fraud, or create national-security concerns. (streetinsider.com)
For international students and professionals, the announcement signals increasingly aggressive visa screening and enforcement. However, it does not mean that 300,000 F-1 or H-1B visas were canceled, nor does it announce a new blanket revocation policy for either category.
The 300,000 figure is a cumulative total covering multiple visa classifications and grounds for revocation since January 2025. The administration has not released a complete public breakdown by visa category, nationality, location, or whether each case involved an arrest, conviction, immigration violation, or another type of adverse information.
A White House summary states that the total includes:
These are administration figures rather than a publicly available case-level dataset. The announcement therefore does not show how many of the 300,000 revocations involved F-1, H-1B, B-1/B-2, or other specific visa classifications. (whitehouse.gov)
The new total also includes, but is broader than, the previously reported effort involving potential B-1 and B-2 visa revocations for certain asylum applicants.
F-1 students and H-1B professionals are potentially subject to individual visa revocation, but the October 20 announcement did not cancel either visa category as a whole.
Federal law gives the Secretary of State and consular officers broad authority to revoke a visa after issuance. Under State Department regulations, a nonimmigrant visa may be revoked or provisionally revoked while officials review information affecting the holder’s eligibility. Once the revocation is entered into the government’s Consular Lookout and Support System, the visa is no longer valid for travel—even if the physical visa stamp has not been marked “revoked.” (uscode.house.gov)
The State Department has also expanded online-presence review across numerous classifications. F-1, M-1, J-1, H-1B, and certain dependent visa applicants are already covered by that screening framework. The department says it uses available information to evaluate visa eligibility, national-security concerns, public safety, and whether applicants genuinely intend to follow the terms of their admission. (travel.state.gov)
International students can read more about the current social media vetting requirements for U.S. visa applicants.
A visa is generally a travel document used to request admission at a U.S. port of entry. Immigration status governs a person’s authorized activities and stay after admission. For F-1 students, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, separately records whether the student is maintaining status.
Student and Exchange Visitor Program guidance states that visa revocation is not, by itself, a reason to terminate the SEVIS record of a student who is already in the United States and maintaining status. However, federal immigration law also identifies revocation under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 221(i) as a potential ground of deportability. The practical consequences can therefore depend on the reason for revocation and whether the Department of Homeland Security takes additional action. (ice.gov)
An F-1 student who receives a revocation notice should contact both:
H-1B workers should contact their employer’s immigration team or attorney promptly. A visa revocation does not automatically cancel an approved H-1B petition, but the underlying facts could affect status, future visa applications, travel, or admission.
The October 20 announcement is an enforcement update, not a new regulation with a future effective date. As of October 21, 2026, the administration says more than 300,000 individual visas have already been revoked.
International students and professionals should keep four points in mind:
The announcement does not change CPT, Day 1 CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT eligibility rules. Nevertheless, students using these forms of employment authorization may face significant consequences if the facts behind a visa revocation also lead to a SEVIS termination, status finding, or other enforcement action.
No. The figure covers multiple visa classifications and individual cases accumulated since January 2025. The administration says approximately 6,000 revocations involved foreign students, but it has not released a complete public breakdown explaining every student case.
Possibly, but the answer depends on the circumstances. SEVP guidance says visa revocation alone is not a reason to terminate the SEVIS record of a student maintaining status. However, revocation may create separate immigration and removal risks, particularly when it is connected to an arrest, fraud allegation, status violation, or national-security determination.
No. Once a revocation is entered into the State Department’s system, the visa is no longer valid for travel to the United States. Leaving the country may require you to obtain a new visa before returning, and approval is not guaranteed.
Confirm the notice through official channels, contact your DSO or employer immigration team, and consult an immigration attorney before traveling or making major status decisions. F-1 students should also ask their DSO to verify whether their SEVIS record remains active.