The U.S. government is preparing to revoke the business and tourist visas of a large number of foreign nationals who have applied for asylum in the U.S., as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration policy, the State Department announced on Tuesday.
“We are working in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreign nationals who entered the United Statesclaiming to be short-term visitors but then applying for asylum in order to remain here permanently,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Agence France-Presse, confirming press reports.
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“Obtaining an entry visa with the intent to seek asylum constitutes fraud, which justifies the revocation of the visa,” he added.
U.S. media reported as many as 200,000 visa revocations, which would be a record.
The U.S. State Department neither confirmed nor denied this figure, emphasizing that the process would take place “gradually.”
In early August, the State Department announced that following Donald Trump’s return to power in January 2025, approximately 175,000 foreigners in the U.S. would have their visas revoked for a variety of reasons, ranging from criminal activities and violations of the law, such as driving under the influence, to the fact that they “celebrated” the murder of conservative Charlie Kirk.
The U.S. administration also recently revoked the visas of Mexican political officials, including the son of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with Mexico’s current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, accusing Washington of “interference.”
The U.S. President has made combating irregular immigration a priority, proceeding with mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, but also significantly restricting—sometimes drastically— the legal entry of foreign nationals and imposing strict penalties on foreigners who exceed the duration of their stay in the United States.
However, several of its key measures have been struck down by the courts.
Last Friday, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the freeze on visa issuance procedures allowing permanent residence in the United , which had been imposed in January on 75 countries.
The U.S. is increasingly tightening its visa issuance process, for example, by monitoring the social media accounts of foreign applicants.
“Having a visa is a privilege, not a right,” notes Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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Source: KYPE
