The Trump administration is preparing to revoke as many as 200,000 B1 (business) and B2 (tourism) visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the United States [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The revocations are carried out by the U.S. State Department in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, targeting those who entered as short-term visitors but later filed asylum claims to remain permanently [1, 2, 4, 5].
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the process but would not specify exact numbers, describing the visa cancellations as a dynamic, rolling operation [1, 6, 3]. "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 [1]. He added, "As the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis" [6].
Since early in President Trump's second term, visa restrictions have tightened with new requirements, such as social media information disclosure, bonding demands, and bans on some applicants [1, 5]. The State Department reported having revoked more than 175,000 visas over the past 18 months under the Trump administration for various violations including immigration violations [2, 4, 5].
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticized what he described as frivolous or false asylum claims, posting on social media, "People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims. Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law" [2, 4, 5].
Experts expect the mass visa revocation, which would be the largest single action of its kind in U.S. history, to face legal challenges from affected individuals and immigration advocates [1, 2, 6, 3, 4, 5]. Revoking the B1/B2 visas does not mean immediate deportation; those with pending asylum cases would be reclassified but lose their visitor status [1, 2, 4, 5].
The visa revocation effort emerged publicly on August 24, 2026, amid a wave of tightened immigration enforcement by the Trump administration [6, 4, 5]. The State Department previously announced at the start of August that it had revoked more than 175,000 visas under the current administration [2, 4, 5]. On August 24, Deputy Secretary Landau publicly criticized abuse of the asylum system to avoid immigration rules [2, 4, 5].
The administration is expected to continue the visa revocation campaign through the second half of 2026, with more announcements anticipated as the process advances.
