The State Department is preparing to revoke the tourist and business visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for asylum in the United States.
The Associated Press (AP) reported Monday that the department is expected to announce the action within weeks. It would cover B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to holders who later sought asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by the outlet and two U.S. officials. Any revocation would be carried out by the Department of Homeland Security.
B1 visas cover business trips. B2 visas cover tourism, family visits, and medical care. Neither is meant for people who plan to stay. Applicants for both are asked to affirm that they will not seek asylum once they arrive and to show they intend to return home.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department is working with DHS to identify foreigners who enter on short-term visas and then file for asylum to remain permanently. He declined to give a number.
“The number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis,” Pigott said.
The department has revoked more than 175,000 visas since the start of last year, most of them tied to criminal arrests.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made the public case Monday, writing on X that the asylum system has been swamped for years by claims that never met the legal standard.
Landau said the law was written as a narrow shelter for people persecuted over race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws,” he wrote.
The deputy secretary added that backlogged claims take years to adjudicate and that applicants can work legally for the duration.
Those work permits became the doorway into commercial trucking. Asylum seekers holding federal employment authorization qualified for non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a rule in February that cut the category out.
Punjabi Sikh drivers from northern India make up a large share of that workforce. Roughly one-fifth of the U.S. Sikh population works in trucking, according to the North American Punjabi Trucking Association. Raman Dhillon, the group’s chief executive, said the drivers obtained their licenses at state motor vehicle offices and their work permits from the federal government.
Asylum filings by Indian nationals climbed sharply under former President Joe Biden. Homeland Security recorded 41,030 applications from Indians in fiscal year 2023, up from 4,330 two years earlier. India’s Ministry of External Affairs told Parliament that asylum seekers denigrate the country and its society to obtain personal gain.
Landau’s post drew a heavy response from readers.
