U.S.: Up to 200,000 B1/B2 visas could be revoked

According to a report by the Associated Press, the U.S. government is preparing a comprehensive review of B1 and B2 visas, which are used for business trips and tourist visits to the United States, respectively. Based on information from U.S. State Department documents and two U.S. officials, up to 200,000 visas could be revoked. This would affect individuals who received a visitor visa between 2016 and 2026 and later applied for asylum after entering the U.S. If the measure were actually implemented on this scale, it would be the largest mass revocation of visas in U.S. history.

The State Department says it is working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify those affected. A spokesperson for the department explained that the goal is to specifically identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of individuals who entered the U.S. as temporary visitors and subsequently filed an asylum application in order to remain in the country permanently. The focus is on B1 visas, B2 visas, and combined B1/B2 visas.

To clarify: The B1 visa is intended for temporary business travel, while the B2 visa covers, among other things, tourist stays, visits to family or friends, and medical treatment. The combined B1/B2 visa covers both purposes simultaneously. In all cases, these are nonimmigrant visas, the issuance of which is based, among other things, on the assumption of a temporary stay and the stated intention to leave the U.S. again after the authorized stay has expired.

The cited figure of 200,000 potentially affected visas should currently be understood as a high estimate and has not yet been officially confirmed by the State Department. A spokesperson for the department noted that the actual number of revocations could still change as the ongoing review proceeds. It therefore remains unclear how many cases will ultimately be affected by a revocation and what specific timeline the review will follow.

For travelers who currently hold a B1 or B2 visa or are planning to apply for one, this announcement means one thing above all: greater care in preparing documents and a clear understanding of the purpose of their stay. Anyone who wishes to travel to the U.S. to actually conduct temporary business there, visit family, or take a vacation is not directly affected by the announced measure—it is explicitly aimed at cases in which a visitor visa was used to subsequently file an asylum application. Nevertheless, this development highlights how important it is to submit a correct and complete application from the very beginning.

At buch-dein-visum.de, we help travelers prepare their documents for the U.S. carefully and in accordance with current requirements — whether for an ESTA for the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program or for a traditional tourist visa for the U.S. when an ESTA is not an option. Travelers can find an overview of the various available options, as well as the respective costs for a U.S. visa, on our website, so they can confidently select the visa type that best suits their travel plans.