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The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of as many as 200,000 foreign nationals who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States, a move that could become the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history and is likely to face legal challenges.
The State Department is expected to announce the revocations in the coming weeks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and two U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The effort would target certain B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to people who subsequently filed asylum claims.
The State Department is coordinating the effort with the Department of Homeland Security, officials said.
“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Pigott declined to confirm how many visas could ultimately be revoked, saying the process would occur on a rolling basis and that the number remains “dynamic.”
Visa revocations would not automatically mean deportation
The planned action would strip affected individuals of their B1 or B2 visa status but would not necessarily result in their immediate deportation, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy has not been finalized.
People with pending asylum cases could be placed into a different immigration category while losing their classification as business or tourism visitors, the officials said.
The distinction could become important as the administration faces expected legal challenges over whether it has the authority to revoke large numbers of visas based on subsequent asylum applications.
The State Department documents indicate that officials began reviewing current B1 and B2 visa holders after receiving information about asylum applications from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Administration targets asylum claims as immigration loophole
The potential visa revocations are part of a broader Trump administration effort to tighten immigration and visa enforcement.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term, the administration has increased scrutiny of visa applicants, including demanding additional information about social media activity, imposing visa bond requirements in some cases and restricting visa issuance to citizens of certain countries.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticized the use of tourist and business visas to enter the United States before seeking asylum.
“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote Monday on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”
Landau cited the case of a Colombian national who entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2015 and later sought asylum.
The administration has increasingly characterized certain asylum applications as attempts to circumvent the immigration system, while immigration advocates have argued that people who fear persecution have a legal right to seek asylum under U.S. and international law.
B1 and B2 visas are intended for temporary visits
B1 visas generally cover temporary business travel, while B2 visas are commonly used for tourism, family visits and medical treatment.
Applicants for the visas must demonstrate that they intend to return to their home countries and are currently asked to affirm that they will not seek asylum in the United States.
The administration’s proposed policy raises questions about how officials will distinguish between fraudulent asylum claims and legitimate requests for protection made by people who initially entered the country legally as temporary visitors.
The documents and officials did not provide a breakdown showing how many B1 and B2 visa holders have sought asylum or how many could ultimately be affected.
State Department has already revoked thousands of visas
The administration has already expanded the use of visa revocations.
Over the past 18 months, the State Department has revoked roughly 175,000 visas, according to the administration, involving people convicted or accused of crimes ranging from drunken driving to rape and robbery.
The department has also revoked visas in cases involving people who publicly criticized U.S. policies, particularly regarding the war in the Middle East.
The proposed action against asylum seekers would be substantially different in scale because it would potentially affect tens of thousands of people based on their immigration filings rather than criminal allegations.
Immigration crackdown extends beyond asylum
The administration has also targeted so-called birth tourism, in which foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth so their children may receive citizenship under U.S. law.
Trump has repeatedly sought to restrict birthright citizenship, but courts have blocked those efforts. The Supreme Court has also rejected some of the administration’s attempts to implement broader changes.
The planned B1 and B2 visa revocations represent another front in the administration’s effort to tighten the rules governing temporary entry into the United States.
If the State Department moves forward with the policy, affected visa holders and immigration advocates are expected to challenge the action in court, potentially creating a new legal battle over the government’s authority to revoke visas from people who later pursue asylum.
