The Trump administration is preparing to carry out the largest visa revocation in U.S. history

The government of President Donald Trump is preparing to revoke the business and tourist visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who entered the United States as temporary visitors and subsequently applied for asylum, putting an end to a pathway of abuse in the immigration system that has lasted for years. The measure would apply to B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026.

"We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but who then apply for asylum to stay here permanently," specified State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

"Asylum is not supposed to be a legal loophole to evade immigration law," added Landau, who rightly pointed out that the U.S. immigration system has been overwhelmed by applications that can remain unresolved for years, giving foreign applicants time to obtain work permits, settle in the country, and make their expulsion increasingly difficult.

As the Trump administration argues, asylum was designed as an emergency refuge for people facing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or other factors in their home country, not as an alternative immigration pathway for visitors who simply wish to stay in the United States.

Landau cited the case of Colombian Humberto Coral in his remarks, who entered with a tourist visa in 2015, applied for asylum just before his visa expired, and subsequently obtained a work authorization that was renewed for years. Coral used his time in the U.S. to promote the extreme left government of his country and criticize U.S. authorities enforcing immigration law.

Since January 2025, the State Department has revoked approximately 175,000 visas belonging to visitors who committed crimes on U.S. soil and, simultaneously, has restricted citizenship by birthright (ius soli), although courts have blocked several of those efforts.