Fan Anger Against US Travel Ban and Visa Restrictions

When Iraq's soccer team made it to the World Cup in late March, Abdulla Adnan bought tickets for his country's games against Norway and France, which will be played in US cities such as Boston and Philadelphia this month. "Going to the game, to the stadium, with the crowd, the cheering, and seeing my team – that's very valuable to me," he said. "It feels like nothing can compare." This is the second time Iraq has qualified for the World Cup - the first time was in 1986. However, getting a visa proved difficult. And Adnan is not alone. Fans from more than a quarter of the countries participating in the World Cup face travel bans, tighter restrictions or high visa refusal rates, according to an analysis of travel data by the BBC World Service. However, Iraq is not on Trump's travel ban list, so in Adnan's case, the obstacles he faced were quite unexpected. After the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, the US stopped routine consular services in Iraq due to concerns about security in the region. This means there is no place in the country where Adnan and other Iraqi fans can get visas, as they have to undergo interviews in person. So, Adnan went to Jordan to try to get a visa at the US embassy there. However, when he arrived for his appointment, officials informed him that because he was not a Jordanian citizen, the embassy could not grant him a visa. Tickets for the match and trip to Jordan cost around $1,800 (£1,300). Adnan considered applying for a visa in Türkiye, but the process could take up to two weeks, and he didn't feel he could spend that much time away from home. He has given up trying to get a visa. Fans from several countries have told the BBC World Service that other obstacles have also caused widespread anger. One obstacle is President Trump's list that includes greater visa bans and restrictions for certain countries, including four countries competing in the World Cup - Haiti, Iran, Senegal and Ivory Coast. This means their citizens are prohibited from receiving the type of visitor visa recommended by US authorities for fans. Strict immigration policies and a clampdown on undocumented migrants are a key part of Trump's 2024 re-election campaign. US authorities say their system needs to be strict because of the challenges they face in managing the large flow of people crossing the country's borders. Julien Kouadio Adonis of Ivory Coast's fan association, the National Committee for the Support of Elephants, said: "This is a form of segregation that dare not speak its name, but the evidence is there. "No European country has faced this type of restrictions. Why Africa?" His association usually sends a group of fans to the World Cup but decided against trying to go to the US because of the rules. While he is relieved they will be spared what he says are "extremely high" ticket prices, Adonis believes that countries that don't want to welcome supporters of qualifying teams should not be allowed to host the World Cup. $40 (£30). There are no African countries on this list. The US-recommended visa for World Cup fans costs $185 (£137) and applicants must undergo an in-person interview. The State Department says they must demonstrate "an intention to leave the United States after your trip, and/or your ability to pay all travel costs." World Cups such as Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia, provided they have valid World Cup tickets. Fans from Senegal and Ivory Coast must obtain visas before December, after which restrictions come into effect. Senegal fan Aliou Ngom has attended the last two World Cups in Qatar and Russia. For him, one of the highlights of the tournament was seeing "cultures come together from around the world." The point of applying for a visa as a fan. A BBC analysis of US State Department data found that the visa rejection rate for citizens of 11 of the 48 countries that have qualified for the World Cup is higher than 40%. This includes applicants of all types, not just prospective World Cup fans. That compares with the average rejection rate for applications for B1 business visas and B2 tourist visas - the type recommended for fans going to the tournament - from all countries. The data covers the year from October 2024 to the end of September 2025. so it does not include football fans who applied in the last eight months. The 11 countries are Ecuador, Egypt, Haiti, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, Jordan, Iran, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Senegal. With high rejection rates, it is difficult for fans from these countries to know whether they should risk spending a lot of money on match tickets before applying for visas, which they may not get. If they buy tickets directly from FIFA, they can sell them on the FIFA website for a fee if they need them and can use the FIFA Pass system to speed up the visa application process. “FIFA Pass is a positive step because it tries to move ticket holders to priority visa interview appointments,” said Celine Atallah, who runs an immigration law firm based near Boston in Massachusetts. However, she added that while it speeds up the process, it does not make visas more likely to be approved. “The visa system is the invisible gatekeeper of the World Cup,” said Atallah. actually come in." Even with a visa, anyone traveling to the US is not guaranteed to be allowed in upon arrival, as border officials can still turn people away. Abu Kass is chairman of the football fans' association of Jordan, a country where 57% of visa applications for the US were rejected in the year ending at the end of September 2025. "They have been turning people away for the last three to four months," he said, adding that he did not know of a single supporter who had received a visa. The Jordanian supporters' association in the US told the BBC that they only knew of one Jordan fan who had received a visa. Kass said he brought more than 42 documents to a visa appointment in Jordan's capital, Amman, where his visa application was rejected. If the head of the fan association is rejected, who will be accepted?" A State Department spokesperson told the BBC that the administration was "ready to welcome visitors from around the world for the biggest and greatest FIFA World Cup in history" and that "most overseas fans do not need to use a FIFA Pass because they are citizens of Canada or one of the 42 countries eligible for visa-free travel" or already have a visa. They stated that "in each case, we will take the time necessary to ensure that the applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States" and that "we assess every application visas on a case-by-case basis after rigorous review and thorough screening to determine whether the individual is eligible under U.S. law." The Department of Homeland Security is concerned about people remaining in the country after their visas have expired and said that there were more than 538,000 “overstay events” between October 2023 and September 2024. Pew Research Center estimates that in 2023, before President Trump's clampdown on undocumented migrants, there were 14 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. Countries that are The four-time World Cup hosts set up a special visa system for fans, although approval for travel documents is still not guaranteed. Canada and Mexico are co-hosts of the tournament, but 78 of the 104 matches, including the final, will be played in cities across the US. Canada's and Mexico's immigration and visa schemes differ from those in the US. World Cup, Democratic Republic of Congo. Canada requires people to submit biometric data for visa applications and there are two countries that qualified for the World Cup, Iran and Cape Verde, where Canada does not have facilities where people can be scanned. Canada does not break down visa refusal rates by visa type or country but its overall rate for 2025 is 54%. They require applicants to apply in person at an embassy or consulate Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, and Iraq - where Mexico has no diplomatic presence for people to leave.