WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is preparing a plan to cancel the visas of around 200,000 foreign nationals who entered the United States on short-term visas and subsequently sought asylum, according to US media reports.
The reported plan would target individuals who entered the country on B-1 business or B-2 tourist visas. Visas issued between 2016 and 2025 are reportedly among those that could face a higher likelihood of cancellation.
The action is expected to involve coordination between the US Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the reports.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said tourist visas should not be used as a means of gaining access to the US asylum system.
Landau said the administration would not allow tourist visas to become a “back door” for asylum applications and indicated that authorities would take tougher action against people who enter the country on short-term visas and then seek protection.
Earlier this month, a US federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, including Pakistan.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan ruled Friday that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s legal authority. She described the measure, introduced by the State Department in January, as “patently unlawful.”
Vargas said the policy conflicted with federal immigration law, which she noted specifically limits the secretary of state’s authority over consular officers handling immigrant visa applications.
“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” Vargas wrote.
The suspension affected applicants from a wide range of countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America, and Bosnia and Albania in the Balkans. Several countries across Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean were also included.
The State Department had justified the policy by saying applicants from the designated countries were at a high risk of becoming a “public charge” and relying on government resources in the United States.
Vargas issued the ruling in a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights groups, visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring family members from affected countries.
