2026 World Cup in the United States: What Visitors Need to Know About the Country’s Tougher Immigration Landscape

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, the United States is preparing to welcome an unprecedented number of international visitors. Yet, at the same time, crossing the U.S. border has become considerably more complex. Since early 2025, sweeping changes to the American immigration system have reshaped entry requirements, directly affecting fans, investors, and families planning to attend the tournament. Travel planning now extends far beyond tickets and hotel reservations, requiring close attention to stricter and evolving immigration rules.

According to immigration attorney Renata Castro, a global mobility specialist and founder of USA4ALL, the current moment calls for heightened caution. With more than two decades of experience in U.S. immigration law, Castro notes that legal practice today goes well beyond completing applications. “It is about anticipating regulatory shifts and translating them into clear strategies,” she explains, “so that the World Cup experience is not cut short at the border.”

While the tournament promises celebration and global unity, Castro points out that U.S. security standards are at their highest level to date. Proposed measures include deeper scrutiny of applicants’ social media history and significantly higher financial bonds for certain visa categories. These measures, she says, reflect a broader effort to tighten oversight amid increased global mobility.

One of the main concerns for travelers is the temporary suspension of specific immigration applications for citizens of several countries, alongside more rigorous processing of tourist and business visas. Castro emphasizes that her work focuses on simplifying these complex procedures, ensuring legal certainty for both investors and fans navigating cross-border travel. In her view, immigration law has become a central pillar of the modern international experience, especially in a year when global attention will be fixed on U.S. stadiums.

Public support for legal immigration in the United States reached record levels in 2025. However, this social openness exists alongside uncompromising technical enforcement. For that reason, Castro’s message is direct: early and strategic planning is essential. Anticipation, she argues, is the most effective way to avoid bureaucratic delays and unexpected barriers.

By bridging legal expertise with the realities faced by international travelers, Castro underscores a key point for World Cup visitors: in the current climate, the success of an international journey depends more than ever on a solid, informed, and up-to-date legal strategy.