The Trump administration is preparing what could become the largest mass visa revocation in US history, targeting up to 200,000 foreigners who entered with business or tourist visas and later applied for asylum.

At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security has proposed making a $103,265 fee permanent for certain cap-subject H‑1B petitions filed by employers seeking highly skilled foreign workers.

The State Department, working with DHS, plans to revoke B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to people who subsequently sought asylum. The administration says the measure is intended to combat the use of visitor visas as a preplanned route into the asylum system.

Immigration advocates argue that applying for asylum after entering legally is not, by itself, proof of fraud. Conditions in a person’s home country may change, while some visitors may initially avoid disclosing their fears because of possible consequences for themselves or their families.

Visa revocation would not automatically terminate an asylum claim or lead to immediate deportation. A visa governs travel and admission, whereas asylum applications and a person’s status inside the United States are governed by separate procedures.

Affected applicants would lose their classification as temporary business or tourist visitors, and those with pending asylum cases could be reclassified. Their protection claims would, in principle, still require administrative or judicial examination.

The figure of 200,000 remains an estimate reported by the Associated Press rather than a final number formally announced by the State Department.

In a parallel move, DHS has proposed a permanent $103,265 charge on H‑1B petitions subject to the annual cap. The fee would be added to existing filing costs, which generally range from about $2,000 to $5,000.

The administration says the measure would discourage companies from replacing American employees with cheaper foreign labor. Critics argue that it could undermine hospitals, universities, start-ups and research institutions that rely on international specialists.

A federal judge in Boston struck down Trump’s earlier $100,000 fee in June. Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the payment functioned as an unauthorized tax that the president could not impose without congressional approval. He also found that the administration had bypassed required rulemaking procedures.

DHS is now pursuing the fee through a formal regulatory process. That may address some procedural objections, but it does not eliminate the central legal question of whether an executive agency can impose such a large charge without explicit authorization from Congress.

Large technology companies may be able to absorb the cost for rare specialists. Smaller employers, rural hospitals and young companies may not. The policy could therefore turn H‑1B into a route largely reserved for major corporations and exceptionally high-paid positions.

Together, the two measures show that the administration’s immigration crackdown is no longer confined to unauthorized border crossings. It is reshaping legal pathways for visitors, asylum seekers and highly skilled workers—and ensuring that the final boundaries of the policy will be tested in court.

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