US announces new visa system for FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holders, insists 'no guarantees'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US announces new visa system for FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holders, insists 'no guarantees'")
US announces new visa system for FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holders Photograph: (AFP)
Under the new FIFA prioritized appointment scheduling system announced on Monday (Nov 17), the fans with tickets to the US-hosted game will get priority appointment for the visas at the embassies world wide.
In anticipation of the large numbers of fans coming to the USA for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Trump administrations has announced a new visa system to expedite the requests of ticket holders. The new system, however, does not guarantee a visa, clarified the admin. The USA is hosting the football world cup for the first time since 1994. Along with the US, Canada and Mexico are also the co-host of the quadrennial tournament. There would be more fans in the upcoming edition as it has been expanded to 48 teams instead of the traditional 32 teams.
US introduces new visa system for World Cup ticket holders
Under the new FIFA prioritized appointment scheduling system announced on Monday (Nov 17), the fans with tickets to the US-hosted game will get priority appointment for the visas at the embassies world wide. The US has deployed more than 400 additional consular staff worldwide which has brought the appointment time from an year to 60 days in some countries.
“In places, for example, like Brazil and Argentina, you would have [had] over a year to get an appointment. Now you can get [one] in less than two months,” US Secretary of State Rubio said.
Ticket doesn't guarantee a visa
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Rubio, however, made it clear that the new fast-tracker system is only to expedite the appointment process and does not guarantee a visa despite having the ticket.
“Your ticket is not a visa. It doesn’t guarantee admission to the US,” Rubio said. “It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’re still going to go through the same vetting. We’re going to do the same vetting as anybody else would get. The only difference here is we’re moving them up in the queue.”
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico with 11 of those 16 venues being in the United States.
