Citizens of BiH need a standard visa for the 2026 World Cup; tickets do not guarantee entry permit

(Patria) - Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who plan to travel to the United States of America to follow the FIFA World Cup 2026 need to follow the standard procedure for entering the country, as there is no special visa category for this event.

This was stated in the response from the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Sarajevo, to an inquiry by the Patria News Agency regarding visa procedures for BiH citizens who decide to travel to America in June this year to watch the Dragons' matches.

Let us remind you, the Dragons will begin their participation in their second World Cup, which is being held this year in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, on June 12 in Toronto against one of the hosts - the Canadian team. Six days later, they will play against the Swiss (June 18, Los Angeles), and their last group stage match will be against Qatar (June 24, Seattle).

The US Embassy in Sarajevo clarifies that the application is for a B1/B2 visitor visa, with mandatory completion of the DS-160 form, payment of the consular fee, and an interview at the US Embassy.

"The processing time for the application depends on the location and the current number of applications, so interview appointments may be available in a few days, or only after a few months. Therefore, interested travelers are advised to apply as early as possible.

A match ticket is not required to submit the application, but ticket holders may, in certain cases, get access to priority interview appointments through the special FIFA PASS system.

It is important to emphasize that this does not affect the decision on issuing the visa itself. Official and updated information is available at: https://www.state.gov/fifa-world-cup-26-visas/.

Monthly statistics on visa issuances can be tracked at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html", stated the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Sarajevo in their response to Patria.

(D.K.)