The United States has announced a sweeping review of more than 55 million visas as part of a tougher immigration stance under President Donald Trump’s second administration. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that visa holders will now face “continuous vetting,” with records closely monitored to identify potential violations of entry and stay conditions.
Officials say visas will be revoked if individuals are found guilty of overstays, criminal activity, posing threats to public safety, or involvement in terrorism or support for terrorist organisations. “America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies,” said Matthew Tragesser, spokesperson for US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The vetting process will also include social media checks to assess whether applicants or holders express hostility toward the United States’ citizens, culture, institutions, or founding principles. State Department officers have been directed to identify individuals who support foreign terrorist groups or engage in unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.
The announcement underscores Trump’s intensified immigration agenda, which has included mass deportations, the revocation of 6,000 student visas, and the expansion of travel bans to 12 countries, with partial restrictions on seven more. Recently, citizens from Malawi and Zambia were ordered to pay a $15,000 deposit for tourist or business visas, a move critics say is discriminatory.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio further escalated restrictions by halting the issuance of worker visas for truck drivers, citing safety concerns and the impact on American truckers’ livelihoods. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives,” Rubio wrote on X.
The crackdown comes amid heightened tensions on US university campuses, where several foreign students have been arrested for protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, a conflict supported by Washington.
In May, the Trump administration was permitted to temporarily revoke the legal status of more than 500,000 migrants and has signaled further moves, including ending birthright citizenship.
With continuous vetting now in place, millions of visa holders face uncertainty as US immigration authorities tighten their scrutiny like never before.
