The North American tournament kicks off in June
The world is today coming to terms with Donald Trump’s largest ever Visa suspension programme, unveiled just months before his nation is set to host the biggest World Cup tournament in history.
On Thursday, the American President announced his administration’s decision to “indefinitely” pause applications for citizens of 75 countries, impacting an estimated two billion people around the globe, in a reported attempt to further curb the level of immigration into the United States.
In a statement, the US Department of State declared that the pause will bring “an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people”.
“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” it added.
The new policy will come into effect from the 21st of January.
While the sheer number of impacted countries is set to cause concern alone, the fact that the suspensions were announced just months from the start of the 2026 World Cup — where a lion’s share of matches will be hosted in Trump’s USA — has created panic amongst supporters hoping to attend.
Amongst the list are 15 qualified countries, including Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia, home to some of the planet’s most passionate football supporters. Between them, Brazil and Uruguay have won 6 of the 22 total World Cup tournaments.
Those fears should now be eased by a statement made by the spokesperson for the Department of State, Tommy Pigott. He made clear the suspensions will only affect applications for what are referred to as “immigrant visas” rather than short-term, non-immigrant, temporary tourist, or business visas. This means travelling World Cup fans will not be impacted.
Pigott said: “The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”
World Cup countries impacted:
Brazil
Morocco
Haiti
Algeria
Cape Verde
Colombia
Cote d’Ivoire
Egypt
Ghana
Iran
Jordan
Senegal
Tunisia
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Full list of impacted countries:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia
- Brazil
- Burma
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- Congo
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
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