Trump Administration Aims to Revoke Visas of Foreign Citizens Applying for Asylum
The State
Department, in a move that could affect as many as 200,000 visa holders and
asylum applicants, has begun its review. Cancellations could occur in waves.
Edward
Wong
By Edward
Wong
Reporting
from Washington
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/us/politics/trump-mass-visa-revocation-asylum.html
Published
Aug. 24, 2026
Updated
Aug. 25, 2026, 6:59 a.m. ET
The Trump
administration plans to revoke the visas of foreign citizens who came to the
United States temporarily for tourism or business but have sought to stay in
the country longer by applying for asylum.
The State
Department has begun reviewing such visas, and cancellations are expected to
occur in waves. The move could affect as many as 200,000 U.S. visa holders and
asylum applicants.
”Under
President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we are making clear that a
visa is a privilege — not a right,” Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman,
said in a statement.
He added
that the agency was coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security “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.”
“These
types of visas are issued with the clear understanding that they are for those
who intend to return home,” Mr. Pigott said.
Barring
most foreign citizens from staying in the United States or immigrating to the
country is a goal of President Trump and his supporters.
The
Homeland Security Department has halted the processing and adjudication of
asylum applications, although a federal judge has said the administration must
review such applications.
The
foreign citizens the State Department is targeting in these cases came to the
United States on what are known as B1 or B2 visas, issued for short-term stays
for tourism or for business and work.
The
Associated Press reported earlier on the new effort to revoke a large number of
visas.
“As the
process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be
done on a rolling basis,” Mr. Pigott said.
On
Friday, a federal judge in New York struck down the Trump administration’s
efforts to halt the issuance of visas to people applying from 75 countries,
many of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas said
the main rationale of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his department, based
on the notion that many foreign citizens from those countries would rely on
assistance in the United States, had no legal basis.
Her
ruling was not specifically on the department’s new public charge criterion for
immigrant visas.
The
threat to revoke visas for asylum seekers was only the latest change in how the
government is handling visas.
Separately,
the State Department also recently told embassies and consulates that they must
reschedule all visa interviews until consular officers complete training
sessions on a more restrictive policy. For most diplomatic posts, the sessions
are expected to take place this week.
The
training sessions focus on what the department calls a public charge rule, in
which consular officers are supposed to deny immigrant visas to applicants who
might rely on public assistance when they are in the United States.
When
asked about the pause or postponement of visa interviews worldwide, the State
Department issued a statement through an official that said “in early August,
we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates
worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa
services will be adjusted.”
The
department did not say when the foreign citizens would be told of times for
rescheduled appointments. The move by the department is expected to lead to
uncertainty among immigrant visa applicants.
Zolan
Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.
Edward
Wong reports on global affairs, U.S. foreign policy and the State Department
for The Times.
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