- The U.S. State Department waived visa bond requirements for World Cup ticket holders from five specific African nations.
- Eligible fans from Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia must use the FIFA Pass system.
- The waiver removes financial hurdles of up to $15,000 for qualified spectators entering the U.S. in 2026.
(UNITED STATES) – The U.S. State Department waived the visa bond requirement for confirmed FIFA World Cup ticket holders from Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia, narrowing a rule that had required some visitors from dozens of countries to post money before entering the United States.
Mora Namdar, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, announced the change. The State Department said, “We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets” and opted in to FIFA Pass.
The waiver applies only to people who purchased World Cup tickets and chose to participate in the FIFA Pass system. That system is being used to speed up visa appointments.
Under the bond rule, some visitors from 50 countries had to post bonds of up to $15,000 to enter the United States. The new step removes that requirement for eligible fans from the five countries named in the announcement.
Those five countries were the qualified nations subject to the rule: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia. The change does not cover all travelers from those countries. It covers ticket holders who also opted in to the FIFA Pass system.
| India | China | ROW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | Dec 15, 2022 ▼107d | Apr 01, 2023 | Current |
| EB-2 | Sep 01, 2013 ▼317d | Sep 01, 2021 | Current |
| EB-3 | Dec 15, 2013 ▲30d | Aug 01, 2021 ▲47d | Jun 01, 2024 |
| F-1 | Sep 01, 2017 | Sep 01, 2017 | Sep 01, 2017 |
| F-2A | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d | Jan 01, 2025 ▲153d |
That link between ticket purchase and the FIFA Pass system places the waiver inside the World Cup travel process rather than the broader visitor visa system. Fans must meet both conditions named by the State Department.
World Cup players, coaches, and some staff had already been exempt from the bond requirement. The new waiver extends relief to a defined group of spectators rather than teams and tournament personnel.
The World Cup begins June 11, 2026. The tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The announcement gives some fans from the five qualified nations a different path than the one created by the bond rule. Instead of facing a bond of as much as $15,000, eligible ticketed travelers who opted into FIFA Pass can move ahead without that payment requirement.
Namdar’s announcement ties the exemption directly to attendance at the tournament. It also ties eligibility to a digital screening and appointment channel that the government and organizers are using ahead of the event.
The bond rule itself covered a much wider pool of nationalities than the waiver does. While the original policy reached visitors from 50 countries, the World Cup exception applies to five countries and only to fans who meet the ticket and FIFA Pass conditions.
Fans from those countries who did not buy tickets, or who did not opt in to the FIFA Pass system, were not included in the waiver announced by the State Department. The department’s language limited the change to qualified fans connected to the tournament process.
The use of the bond rule had set a financial hurdle for some travelers before entry to the United States. In the World Cup context, the department has now set aside that hurdle for a narrow category of visitors linked to one of the largest sporting events in the world.
With kickoff set for June 11, 2026, the waiver marks a targeted adjustment to U.S. entry requirements for spectators from the five named countries, built around ticket purchase, the FIFA Pass system, and the State Department’s decision to exempt qualified fans from the bond requirement.
