WASHINGTON: Sweeping changes to US immigration policy have taken effect with the start of the new federal fiscal year, as the Trump administration intensifies scrutiny of foreign nationals and the State Department says it has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump returned to office.
The changes, which came into force on October 1, affect a range of immigration and visa categories, including green-card applicants, existing visa holders, some non-citizens receiving government-funded health coverage and people seeking certain US visas.
The measures include changes to employment-based green-card availability, tighter eligibility requirements for some Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programme (CHIP) recipients, and expanded social-media screening of visa applicants.
The State Department said the more than 250,000 visa revocations involved a range of violations and concerns, including breaches of visa conditions, criminal activity, fraud, abuse of the immigration system and national security issues.
Around 2,300 visas were revoked in cases involving so-called birth tourism, in which pregnant foreign nationals travel to the United States specifically to give birth.
“Every visa decision is a national security decision,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, describing the revocations as part of an expanded vetting effort.
The department has also revoked the visas of 27 current or former officials and their family members from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru over allegations of corruption.
In another step, the administration has been preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who entered the United States on B1 or B2 visas and later applied for asylum.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has criticised what he described as “bogus asylum claims”, arguing that the asylum system was intended to protect people facing persecution rather than provide a means of circumventing immigration restrictions.
The administration says a large number of asylum applications have contributed to a substantial backlog, with some cases taking years to resolve.
Visa revocations
The latest crackdown follows a large number of visa cancellations reported in August, when the State Department said it had revoked more than 175,000 visas.
The department attributed most of those cases to encounters with law enforcement involving offences including assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug-related crimes. Other cited offences included reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement.
Green-card applicants
For immigrants seeking permanent residence, one of the most closely watched developments is the State Department’s October 2026 Visa Bulletin.
The monthly bulletin establishes the dates that determine when many family-sponsored and employment-based green-card applicants can proceed with their applications.
It contains separate “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing” charts, while applicants adjusting their status inside the United States must also follow instructions issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The start of the new fiscal year on October 1 also resets annual employment-based visa limits.
The State Department said some employment-based categories had advanced for the new fiscal year, although some categories for applicants from countries not subject to special per-country limits had also retrogressed. Indian employment-based applicants are among those closely watching the changes.
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The October bulletin lists a February 1, 2023 final-action date for Indian applicants in the EB-1 category, November 1, 2013 for EB-2 and January 1, 2014 for EB-3.
The department had exhausted the fiscal 2026 allocation for Indian applicants in the EB-2 category in May, but said annual limits would reset on October 1, allowing qualified applicants to receive visas under the new fiscal-year allocation.
Expanded social-media screening
From October 1, the State Department is also expanding its online presence review to additional non-immigrant visa categories. The expanded screening covers foreign media representatives seeking I visas, as well as Canadian and Mexican professionals and their dependants applying under TN and TD classifications.
Applicants in those categories have been instructed to make their social-media profiles public or open for review. The department says it uses information from available sources during visa screening to determine whether applicants are eligible and whether they present national security or public safety concerns.
Health coverage changes
Other changes taking effect around the start of the new fiscal year concern access to public health programmes. Some non-citizens receiving Medicaid or CHIP face tighter eligibility requirements, potentially affecting their continued coverage.
For immigrants already in the United States or waiting for applications to be processed, the impact will vary according to visa category, country of chargeability, immigration status and the applicant’s priority date.
The October changes therefore combine two aspects of the administration’s immigration policy: tighter scrutiny and enforcement for some foreign nationals, alongside the reopening or advancement of certain green-card categories as the new fiscal year begins.
