Congressional leaders call for streamlined visa process ahead of World Cup, L.A. Olympics

Yahoo

21-05-2025

A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to streamline the government's visa processing system to ensure visitors from abroad will be able to attend next year's FIFA World Cup as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The World Cup, which kicks off in less than 400 days, is expected to generate $3.75 billion in economic activity in the U.S. With SoFi Stadium in Inglewood hosting eight games, the economic impact on Southern California is estimated at nearly $600 million.
But cost-cutting measures proposed by Rubio could threaten that by reducing staff and closing some embassies and consulates, increasing visa wait times and making an already cumbersome system more complicated and costly. That could keep tens of thousands of fans at home.
Even without the changes, six countries have at least one U.S. diplomatic post with visa wait times that extend beyond the start of the World Cup.
Read more: Visa approval crisis threatens to cost 2026 World Cup and L.A. Olympics millions
Rubio is scheduled to appear Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he will be asked about the visa process, said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles). Kamlager-Dove, a member of that committee and a proponent of sports diplomacy, laid out her concerns and those of her colleagues in two-page letter addressed to Rubio and signed by 52 representatives, including Rep. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills), the first Republican to sign on; Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; and Ted Lieu (D-Manhattan Beach), a member of Democratic House leadership.
'I'm hoping to get some answers and some solutions,' said Kamlager-Dove, whose sprawling districts ranges from the border with Beverly Hills to South Los Angeles. 'This is a real problem because it impacts attendance and it impacts economic activity.'
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, with a record 48 countries participating. It will also be the first World Cup played in three countries, with Mexico and Canada sharing host duties with the U.S. However the vast majority of the games — 78 of 104 — will be played in 11 U.S. cities between June 11 and July 19, 2026.
'The economic stakes of these games and significant for red and blue districts nationwide, as is the diplomatic and soft-power opportunity of being at the center of the international sports universe,' Kamlager-Dove wrote in her letter. 'However the success of these games hinges on the State Department's ability to efficiently process the visa applications of spectators, athletes and media.'
Read more: 'America will be open': Casey Wasserman assures IOC visa issues won't plague 2028 L.A. Olympics
Kamlager-Dove believes the opportunity is too important to be sacrificed to politics.
'The United States has an obligation to put its best foot forward as the host of these games,' she said. 'Sports diplomacy is an important tool for us as we continue to talk about peace and cooperation. It's also so important as we recognize all of the different ethnic communities that help make up the United States and want to root for their home team.
'And so you want restaurants to be full, clubs and bars to be full, hotels to be full.'
Earlier this month President Trump held the first meeting of a White House task force charged with overseeing what the president called 'the biggest, safest and most extraordinary soccer tournament in history.' But the administration has sent mixed signals over exactly how welcoming it intends to be.
At that meeting attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Vice President JD Vance — co-chair of the task force — said the U.S. wants foreign visitors 'to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the games. But when the time is up we want them to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to Secretary Noem.' He referred to Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency has detained and interrogated visa holders at U.S. points of entry.
'It is up to [Rubio] to square that circle for us when he comes to our committee,' Kamlager-Dove said. 'The good news is you have Republicans and Democrats asking these questions. These games are non-partisan. And I believe that these are practical, logistical, solvable log jams that deserve a solution.
'Staff the State Department to focus on them. Accelerate and streamline these processes and prioritize diplomacy. Because the games are diplomatic.'
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.