WASHINGTON – In a recent announcement, the Trump administration revealed it is temporarily halting the requirement for certain foreign visitors to pay a bond of up to $15,000 upon proving they hold confirmed World Cup tickets, according to the State Department’s statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
This bond mandate was initially enforced last year, targeting countries with high visa overstay rates and other security concerns, as part of the administration’s broader immigration control measures. Currently, travelers from 50 nations are subject to this new bond rule, among which five nations—Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tunisia—have qualified for the World Cup.
“The United States is thrilled to host what promises to be the largest and most spectacular FIFA World Cup in history,” stated Mora Namdar, the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. “We are waiving visa bonds for fans who have purchased World Cup tickets and have registered with the FIFA Pass system, enabling faster visa processing since April 15.”
This waiver marks a rare relaxation of immigration stipulations by the administration, providing relief for some World Cup attendees traveling to the U.S. The tournament, set to kick off on June 11, will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Previously, team players, coaches, and select staff were already exempt from the bond requirement, aligning with the administration’s directive to expedite visa processing for the event. Until Wednesday, regular fans with confirmed tickets were not granted this exemption.
The administration’s stringent immigration policies have sparked criticism, with detractors arguing that such measures contradict the inclusive spirit typically associated with global events like the World Cup.
For instance, the administration has barred travelers from Iran and Haiti, though World Cup players, coaches and other support personnel are exempt. Travelers from Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, also World Cup qualifiers, face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban.
Foreign travelers also are facing new requirements to submit their social media histories, while the administration had deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at airports recently when Transportation Security Administration personnel were not being paid.
Those measures prompted Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups to issue a “World Cup travel advisory” that warns travelers about the climate in the U.S.
In a report this month, the main advocacy group for U.S. hotels blamed visa barriers and other geopolitical issues for “significantly suppressing international demand,” leading to hotel bookings for the soccer tournament that are far below what had initially been anticipated.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association said travelers are concerned about potentially lengthy visa wait times and increased fees, along with uncertainty about how they’re being processed to enter the U.S.
The bond requirements are part of the administration’s larger effort to clamp down on migrants who travel to the U.S. on temporary visas but then overstay them. Visa applicants from the affected countries are required to pay $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 in bonds, which will be refunded if the traveler complies with the terms of the visa or if the visa application is denied.
As of early April, the number of World Cup fans affected by the bond requirement was believed to be relatively small, perhaps only about 250 people, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But they said that number was changing rapidly as more people buy tickets and some with tickets opt against traveling.
FIFA had requested the waiver, which had to be approved by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, and was the topic of discussion at multiple meetings at the White House and elsewhere in Washington for several months, the officials said.
