• New fiscal year brings changes for green card seekers, visa holders, non-citizens on public health coverage
• Social media screening expands to foreign media, Canadian & Mexican professionals

WASHINGTON: Sweeping changes to US immigration policy took effect Oct 1 as the Trump administration tightens 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 new federal fiscal year brings changes affecting green card applicants, visa holders, some noncitizens receiving government health coverage and people seeking certain US visas.

Updates include reopened employment-based green card categories, tighter eligibility requirements for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Programme, and expanded social media screening.

The State Department said the more than 250,000 visa revocations involved alleged violations, including breaches of visa conditions, criminal activity, fraud, system abuse and national security concerns.

About 2,300 visas were revoked in cases involving so-called birth tourism, where pregnant foreign nationals travel to the US 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.

Additionally, the administration is preparing to revoke up to 200,000 B-1 and B-2 business and tourist visas held by foreigners who subsequently applied for asylum.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticised what he described as “bogus asylum claims”. He argued the asylum system was intended to protect people facing persecution, rather than circumvent immigration restrictions.

This crackdown follows revocations reported in August, when the State Department cancelled more than 175,000 visas.

Green cards

For immigrants seeking permanent residence, the most closely watched development is the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. The monthly bulletin establishes dates determining when many family-sponsored and employment-based green card applicants may proceed.

It contains separate “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing” charts, although applicants adjusting their status inside the United States must also follow instructions issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The fiscal year starting on Oct 1 also resets annual employment-based limits. The department said some employment-based categories advanced, although others for applicants from countries without special per-country limits retrogressed.

Indian employment-based applicants are closely watching. The October bulletin lists a Feb 1, 2023, final action date for Indian applicants in the EB-1 category, Nov 1, 2013, for EB-2 and Jan 1, 2014, for EB-3.

The department had exhausted the fiscal 2026 allocation for Indian applicants in the EB-2 category in May. However, officials said annual limits reset on Oct 1, allowing qualified applicants to receive visas.

Starting Oct 1, the State Department broadened social media screening to additional nonimmigrant categories, including foreign media representatives seeking I visas and Canadian and Mexican professionals applying under TN and TD classifications.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2026