US Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised Wednesday to redouble efforts to issue visas ahead of the World Cup, warning of a backlog so long that Colombians may have already needed to apply.
President Donald Trump's administration has ramped up scrutiny on visas as it puts a priority on restricting immigration and deporting migrants.
Rubio told lawmakers the State Department was considering reassigning diplomats to visa services and to start 24-hour visa operations ahead of next year's World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and then the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
"We are looking for ways to do double shifts in some of our embassies around the world because of the visa requirements," Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"For example, if you haven't applied for a visa from Colombia already, you probably won't get here in time for the World Cup unless we go to double shifts," he said.
He said that embassies would also look to use artificial intelligence on some cases, such as renewal of visas.
"We want it to be a success. It's a priority for the president," Rubio said of tourism for the sporting events.
He was responding to a question from Representative Dina Titus, who voiced alarm at a drop in tourism to her district which includes Las Vegas since the start of the Trump administration.
Tourist numbers to the United States have been hit by accounts of rigorous questioning at border entrances since Trump returned to the White House.
A major fall has come from Canadians -- who do not need visas for the United States -- after Trump repeatedly disparaged the northern neighbor and questioned the country's sovereignty.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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