WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from countries that have qualified for the World Cup and have bought tickets for the soccer tournament pay as much as $15,000 in bonds to enter the United States, the State Department said Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The department imposed the bond requirement<\/a> last year for countries that it said had high rates of people overstaying their visas<\/a> and other security issues as part of the Republican administration\u2019s broader crackdown on immigration. <\/p>\n Travelers to the United States from 50 countries are required<\/a> to pay the new bond, and five of those countries have qualified for the World Cup<\/a> \u2014 Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.<\/p>\n Citizens from those five countries who have purchased tickets from FIFA are now exempt from the visa bond requirement. World Cup team players, coaches and some staff already had been exempt from the bond requirement as part of the administration\u2019s orders to prioritize the processing of visas for the tournament.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n AP AUDIO: Foreign ticket holders from World Cup qualifying countries won\u2019t have to pay bonds to enter US\n <\/p>\n AP\u2019s Lisa Dwyer reports foreigners with a World Cup ticket won\u2019t have to pay thousands to enter the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States is excited to organize the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,\u201d Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. \u201cWe are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets\u201d and opted in to the FIFA Pass system<\/a> that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15.<\/p>\n The waiver is a rare loosening of immigration requirements under the administration and will ease travel burdens<\/a> for at least some visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup, which begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n The administration has taken dramatic steps to restrict immigration in ways that critics say are incongruous<\/a> with the type of unifying message that a global sporting event such as the World Cup is supposed to project.<\/p>\n For instance, the administration has barred travelers from Iran and Haiti, though World Cup players, coaches and other support personnel are exempt. Travelers from Ivory Coast and Senegal, face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban, even without the visa bond exemption. <\/p>\n Foreign travelers also had faced potential new requirements<\/a> to submit their social media histories, although that policy from U.S. Customs and Border Protection had not gone into effect. Also, the administration had deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> agents at airports recently when Transportation Security Administration personnel were not being paid during a partial federal shutdown.<\/p>\n