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US Revokes 250,000 Visas as India EB-2 Stalls
The United States says it has canceled more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025.
Officials say some people lost their visas because they broke visa rules, committed crimes, committed fraud or created security concerns.
About 2,300 of the cancellations involved birth tourism.
Birth tourism means traveling to the United States to give birth so a child receives citizenship.
The State Department also released a new schedule for employment-based immigration visas.
India’s EB-2 category is available again, but applicants are still waiting under a date from 2013.
Other countries received more movement in some visa categories.
Immigration experts criticized the bulletin, while the department said limits on the number of visas required the dates.
The US Department of State says it has revoked more than 250,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025.
The department cited visa violations, crimes, calls for violence, fraud, immigration-system abuse and national-security concerns.
About 2,300 revocations involved birth tourism, according to a State Department official cited by Fox News.
The October 2026 visa bulletin makes India’s EB-2 category available again, but its final action date remains November 1, 2013.
India’s EB-3 date remains January 1, 2014, while India’s EB-5 unreserved category is available with a December 1, 2023 cutoff.
- Who
- The United States Department of State, under President Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio, announced the visa revocations; employment-based visa applicants are affected by the bulletin.
- What
- More than 250,000 visas have been revoked, while the October 2026 visa bulletin sets employment-based immigrant-visa cutoff dates.
- Where
- The actions concern visas for entry to the United States and applicants from countries including India, China and the Philippines.
- When
- The revocations occurred since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025; the bulletin was published near the end of Fiscal Year 2026.
- Why
- The State Department cited rule violations, crimes, fraud, violence-related conduct, immigration-system abuse and national-security concerns; it said visa cutoffs were needed to remain within Fiscal Year 2027 limits.
Administration and State Department
Immigration Experts and Applicants
Visa enforcement
Administration and State Department
The State Department says visas are privileges, not rights, and that continuous vetting is removing people who violate rules, commit crimes, defraud Americans, support terrorism or threaten national security.
Immigration Experts and Applicants
The article does not identify a direct challenge to the revocation total, but immigration applicants and advocates are affected by the administration’s more stringent vetting and crackdown on immigrants.
Employment-visa cutoff dates
Administration and State Department
The State Department says restricting dates was necessary to stay within Fiscal Year 2027 visa-number limits.
Immigration Experts and Applicants
Immigration attorneys described the delayed October 2026 bulletin as disappointing and warned that the retrogression of EB-2 categories was a setback for Green Card applicants.
Key facts
- Visas revoked
- More than 250,000 since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025
- Birth-tourism revocations
- About 2,300
- India EB-2 cutoff
- November 1, 2013
- China EB-2 cutoff
- October 1, 2021
- India EB-3 cutoff
- January 1, 2014
- Philippines EB-3 cutoff
- August 15, 2023
- India EB-5 unreserved cutoff
- December 1, 2023
Quotes
Tommy Pigott
State Department spokesperson
“Every visa decision is a national security decision. Through continuous vetting on a scale never seen before, we are identifying and removing those who commit crimes, support terrorism, defraud Americans, or abuse our immigration system.”
firstpost.com
“A US visa is a privilege, not a right — and if you violate the terms of that privilege, you will lose it. We will not stop until every foreign national who threatens the safety of our communities is held accountable.”
firstpost.com
Sources
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