The State Department is preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by up to 200,000 foreigners who filed for asylum in the U.S. -- the largest mass visa revocation in American history.
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who entered the United States as short-term visitors and then filed for asylum. The State Department is expected to announce the sweeping action in the coming weeks, which would mark the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history. The effort targets B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to individuals who later sought asylum after entering the country.
The State Department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security on the effort, according to internal documents and U.S. officials. Spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the administration is working to revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who claimed to be short-term visitors but then filed for asylum to stay in the country permanently.
Pigott said the revocations would occur on a rolling basis, with the total number remaining dynamic. The move comes as the administration continues to tighten the screws on what it views as widespread abuse of the American immigration system.
B1 visas are typically issued for business travel, while B2 visas cover tourism, family visits, and medical care. Applicants are required to demonstrate that they plan to return to their home countries, a standard that asylum filings often undermine in practice.
The revocation would not automatically trigger immediate deportations. Foreigners with pending asylum cases would generally be reclassified, but they would lose their status as business or tourist travelers. Legal challenges are considered likely, though the administration has shown little hesitation in pressing forward on immigration enforcement despite courtroom fights.
The potential action is the latest in a series of moves targeting those who exploit the visa system. The State Department has already revoked roughly 175,000 visas over the past 18 months, and the new push would dwarf that figure in a single stroke.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made the administration's position clear, saying people across the country and around the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims. He argued that asylum is not supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law, a sentiment that has driven much of the administration's enforcement agenda.
The crackdown extends beyond asylum seekers. The administration has also taken aim at birth tourism scams, ordered green card applicants to return home and reapply from their countries of origin, and warned foreign students that overstaying their visas carries consequences.
The State Department is expected to formally announce the mass revocation in the coming weeks, and the scale of the action is likely to draw intense scrutiny from immigration advocates and legal challenges from affected individuals. The administration, for its part, appears ready to defend the move as a straightforward enforcement of existing law.
For Americans who have watched the asylum system strain under years of fraudulent claims, the message is clear: the era of using a tourist visa as a back door to permanent residence is coming to an end.
The State Department is preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by up to 200,000 foreigners who filed for asylum in the U.S. -- the largest mass visa revocation in American history.
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