00:00The US government is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000
00:05foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status. If this happens, it'll be
00:11the largest mass revocation of visas in US history and would likely face legal challenges.
00:18State Department documents attained by the Associated Press say the revocation will take
00:22place in the coming weeks on B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 and will be done
00:30in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. B1 visas are generally issued for
00:35business trips and B2 visas are generally issued for tourism, family visits or medical care.
00:41Current applicants for B1 and B2 visas are asked to affirm that they will not apply for
00:46asylum in the United States and prove that they intend to return to their home countries.
00:51Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term last year, his administration
00:56has steadily ramped up restrictions on visa applicants, demanding more information about
01:01their social media histories, requiring the posting of expensive bonds for the processing
01:07of visas and outright banning the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries.
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