The United States has announced it will waive newly imposed visa bond requirements for certain FIFA World Cup ticket holders whose national teams qualified for the tournament. The move applies to fans who hold valid match tickets and who registered through FIFA PASS by April 15, 2026, a step meant to speed up their visa processing.
The bond policy was introduced by the Trump administration in 2025, requiring travelers from selected countries to post bonds of $5,000 to $15,000 for tourist visas. The program was expanded in 2026 to cover 50 countries. Five of those countries have teams competing at the World Cup: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.
The State Department said the administration is “waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets and opted in to FIFA PASS as of April 15, 2026,” a measure intended to ease travel for supporters attending matches in the United States.
However, the waiver does not remove other travel restrictions. Senegal and Ivory Coast remain subject to partial entry restrictions put in place in December 2025; people from those countries who did not hold visas prior to that date generally will not be granted visitor visas to travel to the US for the tournament. Haiti and Iran remain under a full suspension of visa issuance, so their fans are still banned from entering the United States to attend matches. World Cup players, coaches and some official staff are not affected by the bond rules or the bans.
The waiver represents a limited relaxation of immigration rules ahead of the World Cup, which begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The US will host three-quarters of the tournament’s 104 matches (78 games).
The announcement comes amid broader concerns over immigration enforcement at World Cup sites. Human Rights Watch urged FIFA to press the US to agree to an “ICE truce” — a public assurance that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would refrain from enforcement operations at games and venues. The Department of Homeland Security has said international visitors with legal immigration status should not be worried, though critics note that past ICE raids have at times detained people with legal status and even some US citizens.
The bond waiver is narrowly targeted and intended to facilitate travel for ticketed, registered fans from qualifying teams, while other visa suspensions and restrictions remain in place.