Foreign content creators and influencers who enter the United States with a tourist visa to create material from which they will receive financial income fail to comply with the conditions of their entry into the country, so they risk being punished up to and including expulsion, immigration authorities warned ahead of the World Cup.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stressed that foreigners who enter the country with B-2 (tourism) visas are not allowed to work or receive a salary for activities carried out within the country.
The World Cup is expected to attract a host of independent content creators to the US who will inform their fans about football’s biggest event.
“People who enter the United States under a visitor program (tourism) and receive income from a US source would be violating the conditions of their admission status,” CBP explained in an email sent to EFE. The agency added that generally, working for a media outlet or visiting the country for the sole purpose of creating content (as an influencer)—thus generating income from the US during your stay—is considered work and requires the appropriate visa.
Immigration lawyer Alex Galvez told EFE that foreigners who do not comply with the requirements of the US government risk losing their tourist visa.
However, he warned that influencers and content creators could fight a legal battle if social media accounts are created in their home countries and receive payments outside the United States.
The World Cup has been surrounded by the immigration debate, last week the International Association of Sports Journalists (AIPS) expressed its concern about the “unfair” visa restrictions that the Government of US President Donald Trump has imposed on some members, who are “denied” entry to the country.
Journalists would not be the only ones with entry problems; last week, CBP denied entry to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan when he was going to participate in the soccer World Cup.
Last year, the Senegalese-Italian Khaby Lame, one of the most popular ‘tiktokers’ in the world, was detained by the United States Immigration Service (ICE) and self-deported.
Lame, who has accumulated 162 million followers on TikTok thanks to his humor videos, was detained on June 6, 2025 at the Las Vegas international airport “for overstaying the terms of his visa,” authorities indicated.
