The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries pay 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 for countries that it said had high rates of people overstaying their visas and other security issues as part of the Republican administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. Travelers to the United States from 50 countries are required to pay the new bond, and five of those countries have qualified for the World Cup – Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Tunisia.
“The United States is excited to organize the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. “We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets” and opted in to the FIFA Pass system that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15.
The waiver is a rare loosening of immigration requirements under the administration and will ease travel burdens for at least some visitors to the US for the World Cup, which begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
World Cup team players, coaches and some staff already were exempt from the bond requirement as part of the administration’s orders to prioritize the processing of visas for the tournament. Ordinary fans, even if they had confirmed tickets, had not been exempt until Wednesday.
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