Story perspectives

State Department Pauses Visa Interviews, Plans 200,000 B-1/B-2 Revocations

8/29/2026

Center

State Department Revokes Visas

State Department paused worldwide immigrant visa appointments and plans to revoke up to 200,000 B-1/B-2 visas of asylum seekers.
The revocations will target B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas issued from 2016 to 2026 for individuals who later filed asylum claims.
Consular officers are undergoing public-charge screening training as the pause, begun August, will end by September, with 175,000 visas revoked this year for criminal or other violations.

Left

State Dept Pauses

The U.S. State Department paused worldwide immigrant visa appointments and announced plans to revoke up to 200,000 B-1/B-2 visas of asylum seekers overall.
Human-rights groups denounced the crackdown as discriminatory and harmful to ethnic minorities widely.
A judge invalidated the 75-country visa suspension, ruling it exceeded Secretary Marco Rubio’s authority.
U.S. embassies emailed applicants that their visa interviews were being rescheduled.

Blindspot

A federal judge invalidated a State Department policy that suspended immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, ruling it exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

On Jan 27 2017 President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13769, cutting the 2017 refugee cap to 50,000 and suspending entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, prompting a nationwide TRO and a Ninth Circuit injunction that protected roughly 2.5 million travelers. Today the State Department’s visa pause and planned revocation of up to 200,000 B-1/B-2 visas echo that precedent, reviving legal scrutiny of executive immigration power.

1 of 4

State Department Revokes Visas

State Department paused worldwide immigrant visa appointments and plans to revoke up to 200,000 B-1/B-2 visas of asylum seekers.
The revocations will target B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas issued from 2016 to 2026 for individuals who later filed asylum claims.
Consular officers are undergoing public-charge screening training as the pause, begun August, will end by September, with 175,000 visas revoked this year for criminal or other violations.

1 / 4