United States: State Department Plans to Revoke B-1/B-2 Visas of Foreign Nationals Who Applied for Asylum

According to the State Department and the White House, the Trump Administration intends to revoke the visas of foreign nationals who initially entered the United States on a B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourist) visitor visa and then later submitted an asylum application in the United States.

The reports indicate that the State Department, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, has begun reviewing the records of B-1/B-2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to identify foreign nationals who sought asylum after entering the U.S. as a visitor, in order to revoke the visas. The visa revocations are expected to occur on a rolling basis.

Revocation of a visa of an individual currently in the United States does not directly impact the individual’s immigration status and in most instances only prevents the individual from re-entering the U.S. on the visa if the individual departs the U.S. However, in general, after making an asylum application, foreign nationals typically would not attempt to travel on their B-1/B-2 visas, as doing so could result in abandonment of their pending asylum application.

Fragomen is closely monitoring these developments and will provide further updates as warranted.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.