VISA INFORMATION

Advance planning by foreign travelers is critical. We recommend all foreign travelers consider the following when making their plans to travel to the United States:As soon as travel to the U.S. is considered, foreign travelers should identify whether a visa is needed. If the traveler already has a U.S. visa appropriate for this travel, check the expiration date on the visa to make sure the visa will not expire before the planned travel date. Contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate Consular Section in their homeland to determine any additional visa procedures, the timeframe required to set up an appointment for the interview, and schedule an appointment for the interview. An interview is required for most visa applicants. The waiting time for an interview appointment for most applicants is a few weeks or less, but for some embassy consular sections it can be considerably longer. Some applicants will need additional screening and will be notified when they apply. We recommend contacting the Consular Section via the Internet at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/questions_embassy.html. For a few countries, foreign travelers will need to contact the Consular Section by telephone. If a visa is needed, foreign travelers should apply for his/her visa as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days before the travel date. Applicants should apply to the U.S. Embassy Consular Section in his/her country of residence.

If the conference is scientific in nature, or the applicant has a scientific background, the visa application should be made no later than 90 days in advance of the travel.

Under immigration law, the applicant will need to overcome the presumption that he/she is an intending immigrant. This is done by establishing, to the consular officer's satisfaction, that he/she is not going to stay in the U.S. based on strong compelling ties to his/her home country. The applicant must establish that he/she plans to come to the U.S. for a definite temporary period and that he/she has access to sufficient funds to cover the entire trip. Meeting organizers may choose to include supporting documents in their communications with foreign meeting participants. Such documents, such as letters of invitation, though not required in the instructions for the visa application, would be for presentation to the consular officer during the visa interview. The letter of invitation can provide information about the conference or meeting by explaining the purpose and specific plans of the intended travel, including an explanation of any funding provided for the applicant. This letter cannot guarantee the issuance of a visa. Applicants for nonimmigrant visas must show that they qualify individually on their own merit per provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Applicants must demonstrate that they are properly classifiable as non-immigrants under U.S. law and not on the basis of an American sponsor's assurance.