The U.S. State Department is ready to assist "Voisinya's mother," who lacks funds to apply for a visa to attend the 2026 World Cup.
On 17 June 2026, after Voisinya, or Josimar Dias, the 40-year-old goalkeeper for Cape Verde's national team, made history by helping his team draw 0-0 against Spain in the first match of the 2026 World Cup,
a heartbreaking story emerged after the game when Voisinya revealed that his mother could not travel to watch the tournament due to the visa bond issue. He said, "My mother can't come because of the visa... We couldn’t gather the money for the visa in time."
Cape Verde is among more than 50 countries whose citizens are required by the administration of President Donald Trump to post a $15,000 bond to obtain a U.S. visa, due to high rates of overstaying.
However, the U.S. State Department stated on its website that this bond requirement is waived for athletes, team staff, and close relatives from nations participating in the 2026 World Cup.
State Department officials said there is no record of a visa application from Voisinya's mother and confirmed they are urgently contacting the athlete's family to assist with visa services. Additionally, sources involved revealed that Voisinya's mother does not yet have a valid passport and is in the process of obtaining one.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging all possible measures to enable Voisinya's mother to attend the upcoming match, stating, "No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history."
Cape Verde's next match is scheduled against Uruguay on the night of 21 June (early morning of 22 June) at 05:00 Thailand time.