&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US to revoke up to 200,000 visas in largest such exercise against asylum seekers")
The Trump administration is getting ready to revoke business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for asylum or are currently seeking asylum status in the US. If the plan is implemented, it would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history.
In the coming weeks, the State Department may announce 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.
The revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation, said officials. B1 visas are generally issued for business trips, and B2 visas for tourism, family visits, or medical care.
“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,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
Most foreigners with asylum cases currently pending would be recategorised but would lose their status as business or tourism travellers.
Increased vetting, strict entry rules to restrict asylum seekers
Since President Donald Trump took office in his second term, his administration ramped up restrictions on visa applicants from information about their social media activity, requiring the posting of expensive bonds for the processing of visas, and outright banning the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called out people who he said try to use tourist and business visas to get into the US and then apply for asylum.
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“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on X on Monday. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”
He cited the case of a Colombian citizen who came to the US in 2015 on a tourist visa and then applied for asylum.
Current applicants for B1 and B2 visas are asked to affirm that they will not apply for asylum in the US and prove that they intend to return to their home countries.
About 175,000 visas revoked in past 18 months
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 it claims foreign pregnant women use to come to the US to give birth so that their child benefits from birthright citizenship. Trump has tried to end birthright citizenship, but the challenges have been rejected by courts, including the Supreme Court.
The screening of current B1 and B2 visa holders began after the State Department received information about asylum requests from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
