US to revoke visas of short-term visitors seeking asylum
Nardine Saad
BBC
Federal agents, including members of ICE, patrol the halls of immigration court
The Trump administration plans to revoke the visas of foreign nationals who entered the US as short-term visitors and later applied for asylum.
"Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum is fraud - which is grounds for visa revocation," US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Pigott said the number of revocations "remains dynamic" and would be carried out on a rolling basis. US media reports suggest hundreds of thousands of visas could be affected.
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has revoked more than 175,000 visas held by foreign nationals on various grounds, according to the State Department.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio's leadership, we are making clear that a visa is a privilege — not a right," Pigott said in a statement to the BBC.
He said that the department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the US claiming to be short-term visitors, but then filed for asylum to stay permanently.