The United States is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreign nationals who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum, an action that would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in the country's history. The State Department is expected to announce it within the coming weeks, unless the plan is challenged or revised, and it would reach so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders later sought asylum. The Associated Press put the figure at 200,000, citing State Department documents and interviews with two officials.
What exactly is being withdrawn?
B1 and B2 are the non-immigrant categories issued for business and tourist travel. The department is working with the Department of Homeland Security "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," spokesman Tommy Pigott said. The department has not itself specified how many visas the process will cover.
Does losing the visa mean deportation?
Not automatically. Officials said the revocations would not necessarily result in immediate removal, and that most people with asylum claims still pending would be recategorised rather than expelled — losing their standing as business or tourism travellers while their cases continue.
How many will actually be affected?
The department declined to fix a number. Pigott said that because the process will be ongoing, "the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis," which leaves the 200,000 figure an outside estimate drawn from internal documents rather than a published target.
Where does it sit in the wider policy?
Donald Trump's administration presented the step on Monday as its latest in a broader immigration programme, Japan Times reported. Nothing has been published in the Federal Register, and the timing rests on the department's own announcement.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
