US To Begin Revoking Visas Of Chinese Students

The United States will “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students studying in the country, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced, as the administration of President Donald Trump continues its crackdown on foreign students enrolled at higher education institutions.

Rubio announced the shock move in a post on X, as well as a State Department statement published late on Wednesday, titled “New Visa Policies Put America First, Not China”.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” the statement said.

“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” it added.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised the decision, saying it “seriously damaged” the rights of Chinese students.

“The US has unreasonably cancelled Chinese students’ visas under the pretext of ideology and national rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. “China firmly opposes this and has lodged representations with the US.

“This political and discriminatory practice of the US has exposed the lies of the so-called freedom and openness that the US has always advertised, and further damaged the US’s own international image, national image and national credibility,” Mao said.

China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the US, behind India. Chinese students made up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the US during the 2023 – 2024 school year, at more than 270,000 in total.