US Prepares Largest Mass Visa Revocation in History, Targeting Up to 200,000 Asylum Seekers
The State Department plans to cancel B-1 and B-2 visas issued to foreigners who later applied for asylum. Officials say the move will be coordinated with Homeland Security and is expected to face legal challenges.
Washington1 min read
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The Trump administration is preparing what would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in United States history. According to State Department documents and officials familiar with the plan, up to 200,000 B-1 and B-2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 could be cancelled for holders who subsequently sought asylum.
The action targets people who entered the country as short-term business or tourist visitors and then filed asylum claims, a practice the administration describes as an abuse of the nonimmigrant visa system. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke the visas of those who “have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.”
Revocation does not automatically mean immediate deportation. Holders would lose their legal status to remain in the country under the original visa, but any pending asylum applications would still need to be adjudicated. Officials expect the process to unfold on a rolling basis rather than in one sweep.
Legal challenges are widely anticipated. Immigration advocates argue that the move could separate families, disrupt businesses and undermine the asylum system itself. The administration frames the policy as a necessary enforcement step to restore integrity to temporary visa categories.
If carried out at the scale currently projected, the operation would dwarf previous mass revocations and mark a significant shift in how the United States polices the boundary between temporary stay and permanent protection claims.
