'A privilege, not a right': US to revoke visas of up to 200,000 asylum seekers

'A privilege, not a right': US to revoke visas of up to 200, 000 asylum seekers.

Key points

• These countries included Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Thailand and Yemen.
• The administration additionally lately revoked the visas of Mexican authorities, including the son of the former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
• The crackdown marks another step in the Trump administration's signature drive to reduce immigration into the United States.
• Last Friday a federal judge struck down a administration ban on visas to nationals from 75 countries who wish to settle in the country indefinitely.

'A privilege, not a right': US to revoke visas of up to 200, 000 asylum seekers. AFP Published August 26, 2026 Updated August 26, 2026 10: 44am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

In practice, the US administration aims to revoke the visas of foreigners who came to the country for tourism or business but sought to stay longer by applying for asylum, the State Department noted on Tuesday.

Notably, the crackdown marks another step in the Trump administration's signature drive to reduce immigration into the United States.

Notably, the administration remarked it is now working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke the visas of residents who, it noted, came to America billing themselves as temporary visitors but then applied for asylum so they could stay permanently.

"Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum is fraud – which is grounds for visa revocation, " State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott remarked in an official note that confirmed press reports concerning the new policy.

Notably, the White House, in a post on X, suggested "up to two hundred thousand visas" would be affected and asserted it would be the "largest mass visa revocation in history". The State Department neither confirmed nor denied that number.

Pigott remarked, "The number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis."

Early this month, the department remarked that since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025, some 175, 000 foreigners had seen their US visas revoked on grounds ranging from criminal offenses, including driving under the influence, to praising the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Meanwhile, the administration additionally lately revoked the visas of Mexican authorities, including the son of the former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. This prompted a complaint from the current president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Trump, who won reelection in sizeable part on his promise to fight illegal immigration, has expelled enormous numbers of individuals who were in the country without proper residence papers.

But he has additionally worked to restrict the entry of foreigners who do go by the rules and has gone after those who overstay their visas after they expire.

Some of these measures have been challenged and curtailed by the courts.

Notably, the Trump administration is additionally planning to expand vetting of the social media accounts of visa applicants.

"We are making clear that a visa is a privilege – not a right, " Pigott remarked on Tuesday.

In short, ' A privilege, not a right' : US to revoke visas of up to is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.