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 US.
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 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 and two US officials.
The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
"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," said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
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."
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.
“Circumventing immigration law”
In a social media post on Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called out people he said try to use tourist and business visas to enter the US and then apply for asylum.
"People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims," Landau wrote 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.
He argued that the system has long been swamped by asylum claims, a process that takes years, during which applicants put down roots in the country.
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 United States 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.
