OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
4:14 PM – Monday, November 17, 2025
The Trump administration is launching a new system designed to speed up visa processing for fans traveling to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — an effort to manage the expected influx of millions of visitors.
Being announced by President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House, the “FIFA PASS” program will grant World Cup ticket holders priority access to U.S. visa interviews starting in early 2026.
The new FIFA “Prioritized Appointments Scheduling System” (PASS) allows the Trump administration to expedite visas for international soccer fans — while also ensuring the administration’s strict immigration policies are still adhered to.
However, having a World Cup ticket only means you can schedule your visa interview faster — it doesn’t guarantee visa approval. The same vetting process will apply.
“I’ve directed my administration to do everything within their power to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success,” Trump stated on Monday at the White House alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and White House World Cup Task Force director Andrew Giuliani.
Advertisement“It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’ll still go through the same vetting process as anyone else. The only difference here is that we’re moving you up in line,” Rubio chimed in, placing emphasis on ensuring safety. “Your ticket is not a visa,” he added. “FIFA World Cup fans can complete their visa interviews and show they qualify.”
President Trump also noted that the site of the games may be moved to different cities due to high crime rates in Democrat-run cities, specifically mentioning Seattle’s socialist mayoral-elect Katie Wilson.
“If we think there’s going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask [Infantino] to move that to a different city,” Trump stated.
“The governors are going to have to behave, the mayors are going to have to behave,” Trump stated. “I love Los Angeles. If they want help during this, I would love to send in the National Guard or whoever is necessary during that. I want it to be great. I would love it to be in Los Angeles. I love the palace. It’s a natural for Los Angeles. If we think there’s going to be crime, if we’re obstructed by the Governor — maybe he won’t construct, maybe he’ll be great — but I’d love from him to call san say could I have some extra help.”
“Because if there’s even a hint of a problem, we want to get in there before the problem occurs,” the president added. “We want to make it totally safe for … all of the great people that are going to be there, and I think it’s going to happen. I would be honored to help California if they’re going to have a problem. … We can be in there in 24 hours notice.”
Following up on Trump’s comments, Infantino stated that “safety and security are the number one priority for a successful World Cup. We can see today that people have trust in the United States, and we see the ticket sales, tickets sold, are record-breaking.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is projected to draw approximately 6.5 million fans across its 104 matches in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, while generating roughly $30.5 billion in gross economic output for the U.S. alone — with up to $40.9 billion in global GDP contributions, including $17.2 billion added to the U.S. GDP and nearly 185,000 full-time equivalent jobs created in the country.
The United States is set to host 78 of the tournament’s 104 games in 11 American cities, including New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami, among others.
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