President Donald Trump’s World Cup has been thrown into disarray by a new border problem.
There are 42 countries from which citizens can travel to the U.S. using only an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which saves them from lengthy visa applications.
The countries on the list are regarded as among the U.S.’s closest global allies, but now their citizens are facing travel problems as they make their way to the States to watch their teams in soccer’s biggest tournament.
ESTAs allow people to enter the country for 90 days for business or leisure after providing background information. Now, some fans who had theirs approved months ago are now finding that their application’s status has reverted to pending.
“I started to hear about the fact that some of those ESTA applications had been moved back to pending, and not authorized,” Scotland fan Stephen Sloan told WBZ TV News. He can travel, but his friend has fallen foul of a major problem, and now Sloan faces making the trip from Glasgow to Boston alone.
“They said ‘look, we’ll try and escalate it. We’ll do our best,’ but we fly out, or we’re supposed to fly out at 3 p.m. U.K. time (Tuesday).”
Scotland plays Haiti in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on Saturday, meaning the clock is ticking despite his friend’s ESTA being approved last week, WBZ reports.
He only found out about the problem when he went to check his documentation on Saturday.
“If he’s unable to travel, that means I need to travel alone, which is a completely different experience. It would be far too much money to just not go,” he added.
Visa applications often take years, so efforts were made to create a fast-track system that would allow soccer fans to expedite their applications and get to the U.S. for the games.
This isn’t the only logistical hurdle that is taking the excitement out of the greatest show on earth for some fans.
It is only the second time that Iraq has qualified for the tournament in its history, but its fans say they are being made to go to great lengths to see their team.
“To go to a match, a stadium, a crowd, cheering, and see my team—that is worth the world to me,” ticket-holding Iraq fan Abdulla Adnan told the BBC. “It’s a feeling that no other feeling can compare to.”
U.S.-Iraq consular services were suspended at the start of the war with Iran amid security concerns.
Iraq is not on the U.S.’s travel ban list, although around one-quarter of the teams playing in the tournament are.
Adnan spent $1,800 alone on the ticket and a trip to Jordan, where he visited the country’s U.S. embassy to try to get a visa, but was told that because he wasn’t Jordanian, he couldn’t apply there.
“The visa system is the invisible gatekeeper of the World Cup,” Boston-based immigration law firm operator Celine Atallah told the BBC. “FIFA can sell a ticket, but the U.S. government decides who gets a visa, and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] decides who actually enters.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said, “The Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws. Under the Visa Waiver Program, all ESTA applications are continuously vetted against law enforcement and security databases. Travelers must provide complete and truthful information, including all criminal history.
“Failure to disclose arrests or convictions constitutes misrepresentation and can lead to ESTA denial, revocation, or a permanent bar from entering the United States. An approved ESTA does not guarantee admission. Individuals ineligible for the VWP due to criminal convictions or misrepresentation must apply for a visa.
“CBP is unable to speculate on other travelers as CBP does not track who is traveling for FIFA games.”
