Washington:
The US government is quietly scanning through thousands of temporary visas, checking whether foreigners lied about their real plans when they entered the country. Reports place the number of such visas — both tourism and business — close to 200,000, though the US State Department hasn’t confirmed it.
Asked by NDTV whether Indian nationals could be swept up in the review, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott didn’t dodge the point. A US visa, he said, is “not a right, but a privilege.”
According to the official, the Donald Trump administration is cracking down on “fraud and abuse” in the US visa system.
The State Department, along with the Department of Homeland Security, is looking for cases where someone entered on a temporary visa and later tried to stay — either by applying for asylum or through some other path to permanent status. The entire review turns on one question: did the person misrepresent their intentions from the start?
Pigott pointed out that a temporary visa is granted on the clear expectation that the visa holder will return home.
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