US preparing largest mass visa revocation, targeting 200,000 asylum seekers

State Department expected to revoke B1, B2 visas issued 2016 to 2026

The State Department is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the United States, according to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two U.S. officials. If carried out, the planned action would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history and would likely face legal challenges.

Unless challenged or revised, the State Department is expected to announce the revocation in the coming weeks. The proposed action targets so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought or are now seeking asylum, according to the documents and officials. The State Department will coordinate the revocations with the Department of Homeland Security.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott articulated the agency’s rationale in a written statement. “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. B1 and B2 visas cover business and tourism travel, the categories the State Department is targeting.

The proposed scope — up to 200,000 visas spanning the 2016-to-2026 issuance period — would mark the largest single mass visa revocation in U.S. history, according to the AP’s reporting.

The action is expected to draw legal challenges. Any litigation is likely to test the administration’s claim that B1 and B2 holders who subsequently sought asylum misrepresented their intent at the time of visa application.