Trump’s visa crackdown plan could affect thousands seeking asylum in the US

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States.

If it happens, the move would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history and would likely face legal challenges.

Unless challenged or revised, the US 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, according to state department documents obtained by the Associated Press (AP) and two US officials. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“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 spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

He declined to comment on the number of visas that might be revoked, saying “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 their immediate deportation, the officials said. Most of those with asylum cases currently pending would be recategorised but would lose their status as business or tourism travellers, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the revocations are not final yet.

Since US President Donald Trump took office for his second term last year, his administration has steadily ramped up restrictions on visa applicants — demanding more information about their social media histories, requiring the posting of expensive bonds to process visas, and outright banning the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries.

In a social media post on Tuesday, US 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.

“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau said in a post on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”

Landau cited the case of a Colombian citizen who came to the US in 2015 on a tourist visa and then applied for asylum.

B1 visas are generally issued for business trips and B2 visas are generally issued for tourism, family visits or 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 US and would be affected by the revocations.

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.

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 US to give birth so that their child will benefit from birthright citizenship.

Trump has tried several times to end birthright citizenship, but those challenges have been rejected by courts, including the US Supreme Court.

The state department documents obtained by AP suggest 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.

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