The US plans to cancel up to 200,000 tourist and business visas for individuals who have applied for asylum
Presidential administration Donald Trump allegedly preparing the abolition of until 200,000 business and tourist visas foreign nationals who applied for asylum after arriving in the United States. If implemented to the announced extent, the measure could represent the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.
According to the report Associated Press, the plan would apply to people who were issued B1 and B2 visas, who later sought asylum in the US.
The B1 visa is primarily used for business travel, while the B2 is issued for tourism, family visits, medical treatment, and other temporary stays.
State Department and DHS are verifying B1 and B2 visa holders
Spokesperson Tommy Pigott at the State Department He confirmed that the agency is cooperating with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) how to identify foreign nationals who entered the country as temporary visitors and then applied for asylum.
The Trump administration claims that these visas are issued to individuals who intend to return to their home country after temporary stay. According to the State Department, using a temporary visa with a pre-existing intent to remain in the U.S. could be grounds for its revocation.
However, the potential mass application of this rule is expected to cause new legal disputes.
Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas and Europe at the organization Refugees International, She assessed that abolishing so many visas would be historically unusual and criticized the plan as a further reduction of the legal status of persons who had previously been granted entry into the country.
More than 175,000 visas already canceled
During its current term, the Trump administration has significantly tightened its policy on visas, asylum, and other forms of legal residence.
According to the data of the State Department, since Donald Trump's return to the White House, more than 175,000 visas for foreign nationals.
The analysis previously published by him The Guardian it showed that the pace of visa waivers was approximately four times greater than during the last year of President Joe Biden's administration.
The new measure also comes after a federal court recently overturned another Trump administration policy that had suspended visa processing for citizens of 75 countries.
At the same time, the White House is trying to permanently introduce a tax of about $100,000 for certain new H-1B visas, despite previous legal disputes over the measure.
If the plan for B1 and B2 visas is implemented, it could affect tens of thousands of people who are already in the U.S. or have active asylum proceedings, while the legality of such a mass revocation of visas is expected to end up before federal courts again.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PHOTO: CHAT GPT
