WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is unveiling a new initiative for foreign nationals traveling to the United States for next year’s World Cup, designed to allow them to secure visa interviews more quickly.
Dubbed “FIFA Pass,” it will enable those who purchased World Cup tickets through FIFA to obtain expedited visa appointments, while the administration continues to balance President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration stance with a flood of travelers for the football tournament. The “pass” in the name stands for the “priority appointment scheduling system.”
“If you have a World Cup ticket, you can have priority visa appointments,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was in the Oval Office with Trump on Monday to explain the new system.
“He said it the first time we met, Mr. President, America welcomes the world,” he added, addressing the U.S. president.
Trump said on Monday that he “fervently” encourages World Cup travelers to the United States to apply for their visas “immediately.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the administration has dispatched more than 400 additional consular officers around the world to handle visa demand, and that in roughly 80 percent of the world, travelers to the United States can obtain a visa appointment within 60 days.
Under the new system, those who purchased tickets through FIFA will have access to a “FIFA Portal” that would help prioritize their visa application and interview at the State Department.
“We will conduct the same checks that anyone else would receive. The only difference here is that we’re moving them forward in line,” Rubio said.
During next year’s World Cup, 104 matches will be played across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Trump has made the World Cup’s success a top priority, and Infantino has been a frequent visitor to the White House as FIFA prepares for the World Cup draw on December 5 at the Kennedy Center, the arts institution now run and staffed by Trump loyalists.
Trump again raised the possibility of moving World Cup matches out of one of its host cities if he deemed it unsafe, with the election of progressive activist Katie Wilson as Seattle’s mayor, who has spoken about shielding the city from Trump policies and maintaining its sanctuary-city status for migrants. Seattle is one of the 11 host cities in the United States next year.
“If we believe there will be any sign of trouble, I would ask Gianni to move it to a different city,” Trump said about Seattle. The FIFA president avoided committing to moving the host cities, noting that “safety is the number one priority for a successful World Cup” and that “we can see today that people trust the United States,” highlighting the number of tickets that have already been sold.
