The US Department of State plans to revoke B-1 and B-2 non-immigrant visas issued between 2016 and 2026 for holders who have previously sought asylum or are currently seeking asylum. Up to 200,000 people could be affected by the visa revocations, according to estimates cited from State Department documents and two US officials.

B-1 visas are generally issued for business travel, and B-2 visas are generally issued for tourism, family visits, or medical care. Applicants for B-1 or B-2 visas are required to confirm that they will not seek asylum in the US and must provide proof that they intend to return to their home countries.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the measure was targeted at "foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently." Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X, "People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims." Landau added that "Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law."

The visa revocation action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. Pigott stated that the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis. The visa revocations would not necessarily result in immediate deportation for those affected. Most individuals with pending asylum cases would be re-categorized and lose their status as business or tourism travelers, but their right to pursue an asylum application would generally remain intact until adjudication.

Rut Bermejo Casado, a researcher in migration and asylum policies and lecturer at Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, provided analysis on the policy implications. She said, "They would lose their status as temporary visitors, but they would not necessarily become immediately removable solely because their visa has been revoked." Casado added, "Even if it does not lead to immediate removals, the measure signals a major shift toward treating post-entry asylum claims as evidence that temporary visas were used inconsistently with their intended purpose."

Timeline

The US Department of State revoked more than 175,000 visas held by foreign nationals earlier in August 2026, mostly for alleged criminal activity, visa violations, fraud, calls for violence, or actions deemed a threat to national security. President Donald Trump signed a new executive order targeting "birth tourism" in August 2026. Rights organisations in the US launched a legal challenge to the new executive orders targeting birthright citizenship in the US state of New Hampshire.

Also on August 25, 2026, Rut Bermejo Casado, a researcher in migration and asylum policies and lecturer at Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, said, "They would lose their status as temporary visitors, but they would not necessarily become immediately removable solely because their visa has been revoked." Casado said, "Their right to pursue an asylum application would generally remain intact until adjudication." She said, "If those claims are eventually denied, they would no longer have any underlying non-immigrant status to fall back on." She said, "Even if it does not lead to immediate removals, the measure signals a major shift toward treating post-entry asylum claims as evidence that temporary visas were used inconsistently with their intended purpose."

Why It Matters

The policy affects a large population, with estimates suggesting up to 200,000 people could be impacted by the visa revocations. According to Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review data, asylum applications were mostly rejected for applicants from Haiti, India, Cuba, and Mexico in recent years. According to Homeland Security figures, top nationalities for successful asylum claims in recent years include Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, China, Russia, Turkiye, and Egypt.

This action follows other recent immigration measures, including the revocation of more than 175,000 visas in August 2026 for reasons such as alleged criminal activity and national security threats. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order targeting "birth tourism" in August 2026, which faced legal challenges from rights organisations in New Hampshire. The current visa revocations represent a continued effort to align visa usage with stated intentions, though the process involves complex legal considerations regarding due process and the status of pending asylum claims.