- How policy shifts are changing travel planning, relocations, and airline demand from UAE
Dubai: As anticipation builds for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, UAE residents and professionals are navigating an increasingly complex US visa environment, flag industry analysts and visa facilitator firms.
While demand for travel and event attendance remains strong, they note that evolving US immigration policies are challenging decisions around tourism, work relocation and long-term career planning.
“The new US visa regime is sending ripples through both leisure and professional travel markets here in the UAE,” said Alena Iakina, founder of visa insights platform visarun.ai. “Leisure demand holds, but corporate and long-term plans face heightened scrutiny and cost pressures.”
U.S. tightened conditions for work-related travel and introduced targeted facilitation for World Cup visitors late last year. U.S. Embassy officials in the UAE earlier confirmed that fans must still apply for standard B-1/B-2 visitor visas, stressing that FIFA PASS only eases appointment delays and does not change approval eligibility or approval criteria.
H-1B shifts widen impact
While football fans prepare itineraries, professionals face growing regulatory headwinds tied to US work visas, particularly the H-1B category. In late 2025, a presidential proclamation significantly increased costs associated with new H-1B applications, requiring employers to pay a one-time $100,000 fee on top of existing filing charges for certain new hires.
That change has introduced uncertainty into the job mobility calculus for UAE residents and global talent alike. Travel agents and immigration consultants in the region reported a wave of cancellations and hesitant bookings following the announcement, as employees and employers alike reassessed travel plans amid confusion over how the new rules might affect re-entry and future employment prospects.
