Chandigarh -Executive Director of the North American Punjabi Association(NAPA), Satnam Singh Chahal, while releasing the copies of the letters addressed to Senator Alex Padilla and Senator Adam B. Schiff, urged that the reported U.S. plan to revoke up to 200,000 B1 and B2 business and tourism visas belonging to foreign nationals who have applied for or are seeking asylum requires careful examination, transparency and protection of due process. Chahal further said that according to reports, the Trump administration is preparing, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, to revoke B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to individuals who subsequently sought asylum or are currently seeking asylum in the United States. If implemented at the reported scale, it would represent the largest single mass visa revocation in U.S. history. However, the figure of 200,000 should currently be understood as a reported upper estimate rather than a final number formally announced by the State Department.
He further said that NAPA fully recognises the authority of the United States government to enforce its immigration and visa laws. However, enforcement must distinguish between deliberate visa fraud and people whose circumstances genuinely changed after entering the United States,” said Satnam Singh Chahal. A person who obtained a visitor visa with a genuine intention to visit temporarily should not automatically be presumed to have committed fraud merely because that person later sought asylum. Circumstances can change, and the asylum system exists precisely to address claims of persecution and fear of return.
Chahal said the most important concern is individualized review. “If the government has evidence that a particular individual obtained a B1/B2 visa through deliberate misrepresentation or entered the United States with a concealed intention to misuse the visa, that case should certainly be examined under the law. But an across-the-board assumption that every person who subsequently applied for asylum committed fraud would be deeply concerning. Each case deserves to be examined on its own facts.”
He also emphasized that visa revocation should not automatically be equated with immediate deportation. Reports indicate that the proposed revocations would not necessarily result in immediate removal from the United States, and people with pending asylum cases could be placed into a different immigration category while losing their visitor-visa status.“There is already considerable anxiety within immigrant and diaspora communities because immigration policies are changing rapidly,” Chahal said. “The government must communicate clearly who is affected, what procedure will be followed, what notice individuals will receive and what legal remedies will be available. Uncertainty itself can cause enormous hardship to families.”Expressing his concern Chahal said about the possible impact on Punjabi and South Asian families, many of whom have longstanding connections between the United States, India, Canada and other countries. B2 visas are not limited to conventional tourism; they can also cover family visits and medical travel, while B1 visas are generally used for business purposes.
Chahal said the United States should maintain a clear distinction between immigration enforcement and humanitarian protection. “The United States has every legitimate right to prevent abuse of its visitor-visa system. At the same time, legitimate asylum claims should not be discouraged merely because an individual originally entered the country as a visitor. The credibility of the American immigration system depends on both enforcement and fairness.”“Our message to the diaspora is simple: do not panic, but do not ignore the issue either,” Chahal said. “Keep copies of your immigration records, carefully read every notice received from U.S. authorities and obtain professional legal advice where necessary.