The Trump administration is set to revoke more than 200,000 tourist and business visas for foreigners who have sought asylum in the United States, according to a report by the AP released on Monday.
The State Department is expected to soon reveal that B1 and B2 visas, which were granted between 2016 and 2026 to individuals who filed for asylum, will be revoked. They are collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out this process, as per government documents cited by the AP.
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, mentioned to the AP, “We are coordinating with DHS to pinpoint and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of individuals claiming to be short-term visitors but later filing for asylum to remain permanently.”
The AP highlighted that this action would mark the most extensive mass visa revocation in U.S. history and could encounter legal pushback.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau expressed in a detailed post on X that Americans are “fed up” with fraudulent asylum claims, arguing that the system has been overwhelmed by frivolous requests, which in turn delays processing for legitimate applicants and allows some individuals to “otherwise put down roots in our country.”
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 laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbor for persons persecuted because of their “race, religion, nationality,… pic.twitter.com/fNHbj1SsIX
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) August 24, 2026
Landau pointed to the case of Humberto Coral, a Colombian national, as an example of such abuse. Coral entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2015 and applied for asylum just before it expired. He later received a work permit from the Obama administration, which he continued to renew for ten years. Landau criticized Coral, stating he spent his time in the U.S. “shilling for Colombia’s far-left government” while also blaming the American authorities for allegedly “putting people in concentration camps.”
The State Department has yet to respond to requests for comments regarding the situation.
