The State Department, working with the Department of Homeland Security, is preparing a plan to revoke B1/B2 visitor visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to people who have sought or are seeking asylum in the United States, according to officials cited in reporting by NBC News and Axios. Up to 200,000 people could be affected.
The plan has not been formally announced. As of Aug. 24-25, 2026, it remains in preparation, and the State Department is expected to make a formal announcement in the coming weeks; no date has been set.
The rationale, as the State Department describes it: people who arrive on a B1 or B2 visa — issued for business and tourism visits, not long-term residency — and then apply for asylum are, in the administration’s view, using a short-term visa to stay permanently. “We are coordinating with DHS 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,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, in a separate post on X, put the administration’s frustration more bluntly: “People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims.”
Immigration lawyers dispute that framing. Seeking asylum, they argue, is a legal right under U.S. law regardless of what kind of visa someone entered on — and filing for asylum after arriving on a visitor visa does not by itself prove a claim is fraudulent.
Key facts
- Up to 200,000 people could have their B1/B2 visitor visas revoked, according to officials cited by NBC News and Axios.
- The visas covered were issued between 2016 and 2026 to people who have sought or are seeking asylum.
- If the plan goes forward as described, it would be the largest single mass visa revocation in U.S. history, according to separate reporting by ABC News.
- The plan has not been formally announced; the State Department is expected to announce it in the coming weeks, with no date set.
- This is separate from the 175,000 visas the State Department said it had already revoked, announced Aug. 10, 2026.
What revocation would actually mean
Losing a B1/B2 visa under this plan would not automatically trigger deportation. Most people with a pending asylum case would instead be recategorized, losing their business or tourist status. The distinction matters: the plan targets the visa someone entered on, not the asylum case itself.
Not the same as the 175,000-visa figure from earlier this month
This 200,000 figure is easy to confuse with a different number the State Department has already announced — and it’s a separate, already-completed action. On Aug. 10, 2026, the department officially announced it had revoked more than 175,000 visas total since the start of the administration, a cumulative figure covering a broad range of visa actions over a longer stretch of time. The up-to-200,000 plan described here is a distinct, not-yet-executed effort narrowly focused on B1/B2 visa holders who sought asylum. The two figures describe different actions and time periods; the 175,000 figure does not establish that the 200,000 plan will happen.
Timeline
- 2016-2026 — B1/B2 visitor visas are issued to people who later sought or are seeking asylum, the pool the new plan would target.
- Aug. 10, 2026 — State Department announces more than 175,000 visas revoked total since the start of the administration, a separate, already-completed action.
- Aug. 24-25, 2026 — Reports describe the up-to-200,000-visa plan; it remains in preparation, with no announcement date set.
What happens next
Until the State Department makes its announcement, the scope, the exact number of people affected, and the process for carrying it out remain undefined.