FIFA World Cup 2026: Foreigners with confirmed tickets will not have to pay deposits as Trump administrator relaxes policy

The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries post as much as $15,000 in bonds if they are confirmed World Cup ticket holders, the State Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The department imposed the bond requirement last year on countries where it says there are high rates of visa overstays and other security concerns as part of the Republican administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. Travelers from 50 countries to the United States must pay the new bond, and five of those countries have qualified for the World Cup: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

“The United States is excited to host the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar. “We are waiving visa guarantees for qualified fans who have purchased World Cup tickets” and have signed up for the FIFA Pass system from April 15 which allows expedited visa appointments.

The waiver is a rare relaxation of immigration requirements under the administration and will ease travel burdens for at least some visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup, which starts June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

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Players, coaches and some World Cup team staff were already exempt from the bond requirement as part of the government’s order to prioritize visa processing for the tournament. Regular fans, even if they had confirmed tickets, were not exempt until Wednesday.

The government has taken dramatic steps to restrict immigration in a way that critics say is inconsistent with the kind of unifying message that a global sporting event like the World Cup should send.

For example, the government has banned travelers from Iran and Haiti, although World Cup players, coaches and other support staff are exempt. Travelers from Ivory Coast and Senegal, who are also playing World Cup qualifiers, face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban.

Foreign travelers also face new requirements to submit their social media history, while the government recently deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports when Transportation Security Administration staff were not paid.

These measures prompted Amnesty International and dozens of US civil and human rights organizations to issue a ‘World Cup travel advisory’ warning travelers about the climate in the US.

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In a report this month, the top 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 well below expectations.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association said travelers are concerned about potentially long visa wait times and higher costs, along with uncertainty about how they will be processed to enter the US.

The bond requirements are part of the administration’s larger effort to crack down on migrants who travel to the U.S. on temporary visas but then overstay them. Visa applicants from affected countries are required to pay USD 5,000, USD 10,000 or USD 15,000 in security deposits, which will be refunded if the traveler meets the conditions of the visa or if the visa application is rejected.

In 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 rapidly changing as more people buy tickets and some with tickets choose not to travel.

FIFA had requested the waiver, which had to be approved by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, and was the subject of discussion for months at multiple meetings at the White House and elsewhere in Washington, the officials said.

Published on May 13, 2026