The Trump administration plans to revoke the visas of foreign citizens who came to the United States temporarily for tourism or business but have sought to stay in the country longer by applying for asylum.
The State Department has begun reviewing such visas, and cancellations are expected to occur in waves. The move could affect as many as 200,000 U.S. visa holders and asylum applicants.
”Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we are making clear that a visa is a privilege — not a right,” Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement.
He added that the agency was coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security “to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently.”
“These types of visas are issued with the clear understanding that they are for those who intend to return home,” Mr. Pigott said.
Barring most foreign citizens from staying in the United States or immigrating to the country is a goal of President Trump and his supporters.
The Homeland Security Department has halted the processing and adjudication of asylum applications, although a federal judge has said the administration must review such applications.
The foreign citizens the State Department is targeting in these cases came to the United States on what are known as B1 or B2 visas, issued for short-term stays for tourism or for business and work.
The Associated Press reported earlier on the new effort to revoke a large number of visas.
“As the process will be ongoing, the number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis,” Mr. Pigott said.
On Friday, a federal judge in New York struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to halt the issuance of visas to people applying from 75 countries, many of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas said the main rationale of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his department, based on the notion that many foreign citizens from those countries would rely on assistance in the United States, had no legal basis.
Her ruling was not specifically on the department’s new public charge criterion for immigrant visas.
The threat to revoke visas for asylum seekers was only the latest change in how the government is handling visas.
Separately, the State Department also told embassies and consulates on Monday that they must reschedule all visa interviews until consular officers complete training sessions on a more restrictive policy. For most diplomatic posts, the sessions are expected to take place this week.
The training sessions focus on what the department calls a public charge rule, in which consular officers are supposed to deny immigrant visas to applicants who might rely on public assistance when they are in the United States.
When asked about the pause or postponement of visa interviews worldwide, the State Department issued a statement through an official that said “in early August, we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted.”
The department did not say when the foreign citizens would be told of times for rescheduled appointments. The move by the department is expected to lead to uncertainty among immigrant visa applicants.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.
