US will 'aggressively revoke' visas for Chinese students
29 May 2025, 02:23 | Updated: 29 May 2025, 09:59
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security will begin revoking visas of Chinese students.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A statement released by Rubio said the administration plan to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."
Rubio also said the US will "revise visa criteria" for future visa applicants from China and Hong Kong.
It is unclear how quickly the plans will be implemented.
The announcement is the latest development in the Trump administration's targeting of foreign students enrolled at higher education institutions in the US.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump suggested a cap of 15% on the number of foreign students allowed to enrol at Harvard University, one of the world's leading institutions.
"We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools. They can't get in because we have foreign students there."
He claimed his plan would make Harvard "great again", a reference to the infamous Make America Great Again slogan used in his presidential campaigns.
Last week, the administration revoked Harvard's approval to enrol international students.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the move, which comes in response to an ongoing feud between Trump and Harvard which has seen Trump freeze billions of pounds in federal funding to Harvard.
On Tuesday, the White House temporarily suspended the processing of visas for international students, ordering embassies and consulates not to permit any student or exchange visas “until further guidance is issued”.
The State Department also said it plans to “issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applications”.
China is the country that sends the second-most students to the US, and many universities rely on fees from Chinese and other international students.
Many top officials from the Chinese Communist Party have sent children to American universities. China's leader, Xi Jinping, sent his daughter to Harvard under a pseudonym in the early 2010s.
