Trump Administration Poised to Revoke Up to 200,000 Visas in Unprecedented Immigration Crackdown
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to initiate what would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history, targeting up to 200,000 foreign nationals who have sought asylum after entering the country on business or tourism permits.
According to internal State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by two U.S. officials, the initiative aims to strip B1 (business) and B2 (tourism) visas from individuals who arrived between 2016 and 2026 and subsequently filed for asylum. The move, conducted in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is expected to be announced in the coming weeks and is certain to trigger intense legal scrutiny.
“Loophole” in the System
The administration contends that the policy is necessary to preserve the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott stated that officials are identifying those who entered under the guise of short-term travel only to pivot toward permanent residency.
“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,” Pigott said. While he declined to provide a hard figure for the total number of revocations, he noted that the process would be “dynamic” and executed on a rolling basis.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau echoed this sentiment in a social media post on Monday, characterizing the current asylum process as a target for abuse. “People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”
Implications for Travelers
While the mass revocation represents a significant administrative shift, officials clarified that it does not mandate immediate deportation. Rather, those affected—many of whom have pending asylum cases—would lose their underlying nonimmigrant status, effectively changing their legal standing within the country.
The B1 and B2 visa categories are intended for short-term stays, such as business meetings, family visits, or medical treatment. Applicants are traditionally required to affirm their intent to return to their home countries and promise not to seek asylum. The State Department reportedly began flagging current visa holders for revocation after receiving data regarding asylum filings from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Part of a Broader Agenda
This latest action is the most recent in a long series of restrictive immigration policies implemented since President Trump began his second term. The administration has previously mandated increased scrutiny of visa applicants’ social media histories, instituted requirements for expensive bonds, and enacted travel bans against citizens of specific nations.
Furthermore, the administration has intensified its campaign against “birth tourism,” a practice officials claim is used to secure birthright citizenship for children born on U.S. soil. Despite Trump’s repeated attempts to curtail or end birthright citizenship, those efforts have consistently faced defeat in federal courts, including the Supreme Court.
As the administration prepares to execute this mass visa revocation, civil rights groups are expected to challenge the legality of the move. In the past 18 months alone, the State Department has already revoked approximately 175,000 visas based on criminal records or political opposition to U.S. policy, but this new effort marks an unprecedented scale of administrative cancellation for those already residing within the United States.
