The Trump administration has announced two distinct regulatory actions aimed at tightening immigration and visa policies. According to reports from the Associated Press and Axios, the State Department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke up to 200,000 business and tourism visas. This action targets individuals who entered the U.S. as short-term visitors but subsequently filed for asylum to remain in the country permanently. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott characterized the move as a response to individuals misrepresenting their intent upon entry. If implemented, this would represent the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history and is widely expected to face immediate legal challenges.

Separately, the administration is attempting to increase the cost of hiring skilled foreign labor. As reported by the Washington Examiner, the administration has proposed a new regulation that would charge employers a $103,265 fee for each worker hired through the H-1B visa program. This proposal follows a previous attempt to impose a similar fee via presidential decree, which was struck down by federal courts last year. By moving this initiative through the formal regulatory process, the administration aims to bypass the legal hurdles that invalidated its previous attempt. Both the mass revocation of asylum-seeker visas and the steep increase in H-1B fees reflect a broader strategy to restrict legal and asylum-based immigration pathways through executive and regulatory authority.