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The United States’ 250th-anniversary will coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see the majority of matches take place in the U.S. beginning in June. President Donald Trump has played a significant role in the early preparations for the tournament, launching a White House task force to focus on all aspects of organizing the global event, with a central focus on security for U.S. citizens and international visitors.
The president announced last month a new initiative aimed at allowing foreign visitors traveling to the U.S. to receive priority visa appointments. The “FIFA Pass,” as the initiative is being called, is expected to launch early next year, but the State Department is already working to accommodate the influx of travelers.
Matt Pierce, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of Friday’s draw in Washington, D.C., to discuss the visa process and the State Department’s focus on welcoming international visitors while also ensuring the Trump administration’s emphasis on national security.
“As the president has mentioned, this is going to be the best World Cup, the most successful World Cup in history. And the State Department is assisting with that by ensuring appointment availability for those who want to apply for a visa to come to the United States for the World Cup while not sacrificing at all the equity of our visa process and the protection of our homeland through the visa process.”
According to Pierce, the State Department is already at work to accommodate the demand of travelers to the U.S. next year. More appointments have been made available globally and wait times for appointments have been brought to fewer than sixty days in 80% of the world. That sentiment echoed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks from last month where he said that the administration has dispatched more than 400 additional consular officers around the world.
“We’ve surged resources to the key posts to ensure that we have the capacity to handle those ticketed fans while still maintaining that rigorous vetting of visa applicants with that national security angle,” Pierce noted.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘FIFA PASS’ VISA SYSTEM FOR MILLIONS OF WORLD CUP FANS HEADING TO AMERICA IN 2026
While much of the focus is on accommodating ticket holders, Pierce added that the primary concern is ensuring those visitors meet the criteria to enter the U.S.
“This is something that we take very, very seriously because the visa process, that’s the front door to the United States.”
“The State Department works with our partners across the government involved in the visa process to ensure that we vet anybody who’s applying for a visa and that these are folks that are eligible for visas, that we want to have these folks in our country,” he said. “And so we’re confident in our systems and tools that we put in place. And this is a huge focus of the Trump administration and we’ve really devoted a lot of resources to ensuring that that process is secure.”
FIFA announced in October that 1 million tickets had already been sold since the official start of sales began earlier in the month. Buyers from the U.S., Canada and Mexico – the host nations of the tournament – topped purchase totals.
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The State Department is encouraging travelers who need visas to apply right away.
“This is a really great opportunity under President Trump’s leadership to showcase American greatness to the world,” Pierce told Fox News Digital. “And I think that this is a great opportunity for folks to come to the country during our historic anniversary for what will be the greatest World Cup in history. I hope the fans who come here will be able to see some of the sites across the country and to really experience all our country has to offer.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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