World Cup 2026: US opens visa priority appointments for ticket holders

The order to indefinitely halt the processing of immigrant visa applications from those 75 countries will go into effect on Wednesday, January 21.

Before the move, Trump expanded a travel ban that took effect on January 1, which bars citizens of countries on that list from entering the United States.

Haiti and Iran, which qualified for the 2026 World Cup, are on the list of countries with full restrictions.

Ivory Coast and Senegal, which also qualified, are on the list of countries with partial restrictions.

The State Department said the FIFA Pass deadline does not allow “ineligible” people to obtain a visa, meaning fans from those four countries are unlikely to be able to travel to the US for this summer’s tournament.

State Department guidance specifies that there are exceptions for “any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches, people in essential support roles and immediate relatives” from the travel ban to attend the World Cup.

But she added, “The exception does not apply to fans or spectators.” They can still apply for a visa but “may not be eligible to be issued a visa or enter the United States.”

The United States will host 78 of the 104 World Cup matches, in 11 cities, including the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.