The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States. According to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two US officials, unless challenged or revised, the State Department is expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum or are now seeking asylum. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. If implemented, this move would represent the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history and would likely face legal challenges. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the coordination with DHS to identify and revoke nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors but then file for asylum to stay permanently.
As reported by The Associated Press, Pigott declined to comment on the specific number of visas that might be revoked, stating that "as the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis." The revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation, with most affected individuals being recategorized but losing their business or tourism traveler status. According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, most of those with asylum cases currently pending would be recategorized but would lose their status as business or tourism travelers. B1 visas are typically issued for business travel, while B2 visas cover tourism, family visits and medical care. It was not immediately clear from the documents or the officials how many of these visa holders are seeking or have sought asylum in the United States and would be affected by the revocations.
Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term, his administration has steadily ramped up restrictions on visa applicants, demanding more information about their social media histories, requiring the posting of expensive bonds for processing visas, and outright banning the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries. In the past 18 months, the State Department has revoked about 175,000 visas for people who have been convicted or accused of crimes ranging from drunken driving to rape and robbery, as well as for people who have spoken out publicly against US policies, particularly in the Middle East. The administration has also moved to crack down on so-called birth tourism, a practice the administration claims is used by foreign pregnant women to come to the United States to give birth so their children can benefit from birthright citizenship, though Trump's efforts to end birthright citizenship have been rejected by courts, including the Supreme Court.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called out people who he said try to use tourist and business visas to get into the United States and then apply for asylum, stating in a social media post on Monday that "people in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims." Landau cited the case of a Colombian citizen who came to the US in 2015 on a tourist visa and then applied for asylum. As reported by The Associated Press, Landau wrote on X that "Asylum isn't supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law." The proposed policy is expected to face swift legal challenges in court, following previous judicial decisions that struck down other administration immigration efforts. The State Department documents obtained by the AP suggest screening of current B1 and B2 visa holders began after the State Department received information about asylum requests from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Current applicants for B1 and B2 visas are asked to affirm that they will not apply for asylum in the United States and prove that they intend to return to their home countries.
