US Prepares Largest Mass Visa Revocation in History

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 implemented, the move would represent the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history and would likely face legal challenges, according to AP News.

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 U.S. officials. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.

Administration’s Position

“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 spokesman Tommy Pigott said. He declined to comment on the number of visas that might be revoked, noting that “as the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis.”

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made the public case for the crackdown, writing on X that “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.” Landau cited the case of a Colombian activist who entered the U.S. in 2015 on a tourist visa and later applied for asylum.

The revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation, officials said. Most of those with asylum cases currently pending would be recategorized but would lose their status as business or tourism travelers.

Broader Immigration Crackdown

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

In the past 18 months, the State Department has revoked about 175,000 visas for people convicted or accused of crimes, as well as for people who have spoken out publicly against U.S. policies. The department also recently made permanent a visa bond program requiring citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, to post bonds of up to $20,000 to apply for B1 and B2 visas, as AP News reported.

The administration has also paused all immigrant visa appointments worldwide as part of a global training initiative for consular officers, according to The Guardian. Many applicants impacted by the pause likely “spent thousands of dollars and disrupted their lives to attend scheduled interviews, only to have their appointments cancelled at the last minute,” Brian Simmons, an attorney at immigration law firm Fragomen in Washington, told the Financial Times.

Indian Nationals Among Those Affected

New reporting indicates that approximately 70,000 Indians are among those facing possible revocation, though no official nationality-by-nationality breakdown has been published, according to VisaVerge. Asylum filings by Indian nationals climbed sharply under former President Joe Biden, with Homeland Security recording 41,030 applications from Indians in fiscal year 2023, up from 4,330 two years earlier, as Breitbart reported citing Homeland Security data.

Many Punjabi Sikh drivers from northern India work in the U.S. trucking industry using work permits obtained through asylum applications, a workforce that could be significantly disrupted by the visa revocations.

Legal Challenges and Expert Skepticism

The planned mass revocation comes amid a broader legal battle over the administration’s immigration policies. On August 22, a federal judge in New York vacated a Trump administration policy that suspended processing of visas from 75 countries, ruling it “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority,” as AP News reported.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas wrote that “Congress imbued these officers with exclusive authority and discretion to determine if an immigrant is eligible for a visa based upon review of specific and detailed criteria set forth in the statute. The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”

Immigration attorney Nicolette Glazer called the new mass revocation announcement an “empty effort,” telling NPR that “it doesn’t have any consequences.” If an immigrant overstays their short-term visa, they are already breaking the law, Glazer said, suggesting the policy is largely “political spin” and an extension of the “birth tourism” rhetoric. However, she acknowledged the policy could affect people who have been in the U.S. for a long time and have established roots, including having U.S. citizen children.

NPR reported that experts suggest the revocation, while potentially precedent-setting, is “largely performative.” A 2015 Government Accountability Office report shows that termination of asylum cases due to fraud isn’t common.

What’s Next

The State Department is expected to announce the visa revocations in the coming weeks, with the process carried out on a rolling basis in coordination with DHS. The unprecedented scale of the action — targeting up to 200,000 individuals — makes legal challenges highly likely, particularly given the recent court ruling against the administration’s 75-country visa ban.

Current applicants for B1 and B2 visas are already being asked to affirm that they will not apply for asylum in the United States and prove that they intend to return to their home countries. The administration’s actions signal a continued hardening of U.S. immigration policy, with significant implications for individuals, businesses, and international relations.

As the process unfolds, observers will be watching for the specific criteria used to identify affected visa holders, the timeline for implementation, and how courts respond to what would be the largest mass visa revocation in American history.