June 12, 2026 at – 07:59
The World Cup fever was felt especially yesterday at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, where more than a thousand people came to travel to the United States. The National Directorate of Migration reported that until Thursday, the departure of nearly 4,500 people bound for the Soccer World Cup had been registered, a figure higher than the initial estimates made by the tourism sector.
He Director of Migrations, Jorge Kronawetter, explained that the total number of travelers for the World Cup It arises from a cross-section of information provided by the travelers themselves when leaving the country. He clarified that the number of 4,500 people is not yet final, since many fans will continue to travel in the coming days to attend the following games, whose tickets are cheaper.
“There are people who go for the first game, there are people who go for the three games and there are people who go for the next two games,” he commented during an interview for ABC Cardinal.
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The number includes Paraguayans and foreigners
The head of Migration specified that the figure does not correspond exclusively to Paraguayan citizens. As he explained, the record also includes foreigners who left Paraguay to support their respective national teams.
“We are including Paraguayans who went to the World Cup and foreigners who also went to support their team,” he explained.
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Likewise, he mentioned that many travelers made connections through airports in Panama and São Paulo before arriving in the United States.
Special operation at the airport
“At night and early morning we had a movement of almost a thousand people leaving practically in three or four hours,” Kronawetter highlighted.
The Director of Migration highlighted that this intense flow of passengers represented an operational challenge for the airport and immigration authorities. However, he assured that prior planning made it possible to avoid delays and guarantee fluid transit for fans.
“It went very well for us. When you have that information in advance, you can work in a coordinated manner and there was no delay,” he said.
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More travelers expect if Paraguay advances
Migrations estimate that the number of Paraguayan fans in the United States could continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Kronawetter pointed out that, if the Paraguayan team continues to advance in the competition, more people could decide to travel to accompany the Albirroja.
“We believe that there will be more people in the following days and, if everything that we all want happens, that Paraguay continues to advance, more people will go to cheer on the team,” he expressed.
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There are no rejections or problems with visas
On the other hand, the director of Immigration pointed out that so far there are no records of Paraguayans rejected by the US authorities due to inconveniences related to visas or activities linked to the creation of content on social networks. He indicated that the institution carries out basic verifications of documentation before the departure of passengers to avoid situations of inadmissibility upon arrival in the destination country.
Kronawetter explained that one of the common restrictions in most countries is that visitors They cannot enter with a tourist visa to carry out paid activities. In that sense, he recalled that during the visa application process the activity that the traveler will carry out is expressly consulted and warned that the US immigration authorities have mechanisms to detect movements related to income or commercial activities.
Asked about possible cases of Paraguayan influencers affected by these provisions during the World Cup, the head of Immigration stated that the institution did not receive reports of deportations or rejections. However, he clarified that he does not know if any person may have received additional warnings from the US immigration authorities during their entry into the country.
