US Plans to Cancel Visas for Up to 200,000 Asylum Seekers as Trump Tightens Immigration Policy

The US administration is considering revoking tourist and business visas for a large number of foreign nationals who, after entering the United States, have applied for asylum. The measure is part of President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policy.

The State Department said it was working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify people who presented themselves as short-term visitors when entering the US but later sought asylum, and to cancel their visas.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told AFP that the two institutions were working to identify these foreign nationals and revoke their nonimmigrant visas. According to him, they had claimed they would stay in the United States for a short time, but later applied for asylum with the intention of remaining permanently.

Pigott added that obtaining a visa with the intention of subsequently seeking asylum constitutes fraud and, for that reason, justifies its cancellation.

According to reports by US media, up to 200,000 visas could be affected by the initiative, a figure that would set a record.

The State Department has neither confirmed nor denied the reported number, but clarified that the procedure would be implemented gradually.

At the beginning of August, the department announced that the visas of around 175,000 foreign nationals had been revoked for various reasons since January 2025, when Donald Trump returned to power.

The reasons cited include criminal activity, legal violations, including driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as other cases that the administration has deemed inappropriate.

Most recently, US authorities also canceled the visas of several political officials from Mexico, including the son of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Mexico’s current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, accused Washington of “collusion.”