Passport to the pitch: How the 2026 World Cup will send millions into and across North America
Passport to the pitch: How the 2026 World Cup will send millions into and across North America
Foreign travel to the United States has slumped this year, but 2026 is poised to flip that story almost overnight. Early projections suggest that the FIFA World Cup could bring over a million international visitors to U.S. cities alone, with some forecasts predicting 1 million to 6 million international arrivals across the three host countries: the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Manifest Law reports.
But the real story isn’t just how many people are coming. It’s how they’ll move.
Where the Olympics bring the world to one city, the World Cup sends the world moving across an entire continent. With 16 host cities, three national borders, and a 39-day match schedule, fans will be in constant motion, chasing their teams from Vancouver to Guadalajara, crossing borders with days or hours between matches.
That makes the 2026 World Cup less of a traditional sporting event and more of an unprecedented mobility experiment. Airports, rail systems, and other ports of entry will all have to manage rolling surges of travelers rather than a single influx, testing the capacity of immigration agencies to process, screen, and host millions of people in real time.
Even conservative estimates point to a tournament unlike anything North America has experienced, one that’s fundamentally different from other megaevents. When the U.S. last hosted the World Cup, in 1994, total match attendance reached 3.59 million, a benchmark that has been held for more than 30 years.
New Scale, New Rules: How North America Is Adapting Immigration Policies for the World Cup
The World Cup’s host countries are already signaling that they understand the scale of what’s coming. For the first time, the U.S. will offer expedited visa appointments for foreign visitors holding official match tickets, easing pressure on heavily backlogged embassies. The State Department will even deploy additional consular staff dedicated solely to World Cup processing, an unusual step that underscores just how seriously officials are taking the expected surge in demand.
These policy changes aren’t just about convenience; they’re about economics. Tourism Economics estimates that international travel to the U.S. will increase by 3.7% in 2026, with the World Cup accounting for a third of this growth. With international fans spending hundreds of dollars a day on lodging, dining, and local travel, every visa approved translates into real revenue for airlines, hotels, and host cities.
And the U.S. isn’t acting alone. Canada has gone even further, temporarily waiving work permit requirements for FIFA-accredited foreign professionals, from referees and broadcast crews to technical staff, clearing the path for the tens of thousands of essential workers who keep the tournament running.
Together, these moves mark the clearest sign yet that North America is adapting its immigration systems for a once-in-a-generation mobility event, and more adjustments may still be on the horizon as kickoff approaches.
The World Cup Illustrates The Complexity and Challenges of Immigration Law
The World Cup demonstrates what happens when the U.S. streamlines visa and travel procedures: millions of people are able to visit, spend, and participate with far less friction. While some travelers still have questions about new requirements, such as visa interview waiver changes or the recently introduced $250 visa integrity fee, demand for World Cup travel remains high despite system complexity.
Tourism Economics estimates that international visitation could otherwise fall by 6.3% in 2025, representing billions in potential lost revenue. The World Cup's visa streamlining represents a different approach that may attract increased visitation and associated economic benefits.
The U.S.’s rapid adjustments to welcome millions of fans, protect the border, and support the economy highlight an important lesson: Immigration policy can be made more accessible when there is a will to do so. As the tournament wraps up and visitors return home, the temporary reforms offer a blueprint for longer-term improvements that make travel and cultural exchange easier for everyone.
This story was produced by Manifest Law and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
