U.S. State Department Visa Waiver Program
Visitors from qualified countries, coming to the United States for business
or tourism for 90 days or less, may be eligible to enter the United States
without a visa. There are currently 27 countries that participate in the
program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino,
Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Check with the American Embassy in your country for updates. You also can
visit the U.S. State Department web site
(http://www.travel.state.gov/vwp.html)
for more information.
Immigration Alert: Beginning Oct. 1, 2003, all travelers, including children
and infants, who want to travel visa-free to the United States under the
Visa Waiver Program must have machine-readable passports. Travelers who are
unable to obtain machine-readable passports before Oct. 1, 2003, will
thereafter not be able to enter the United States until they have either
obtained machine-readable passports or obtained appropriate nonimmigrant
visas at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.
Due to severe delays in getting VISAs to enter the US, we recommend that you plan ahead
and do NOT
wait for your abstract acceptance to begin the process. You should allow up to 6 months to complete the
process. DO NOT WAIT. For more information about obtaining a US visa, please visit http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov. Additional
information may be found at the International Visitors Office.
Individuals from selected countries can enter the US without a visa as long
as they have a machine-readable passport.
VISA INFORMATION FOR SCIENTISTS TRAVELING TO THE UNITED STATES
As part of new security procedures, applications for visas are being sent to the State Department in
Washington, D.C., where they are reviewed. We advise scientists traveling to the United States to apply for a
visa as early as possible (at least four (4) months before visa is needed). Please check with your local U.S.
consulate or embassy to find out the earliest that you may apply. Because of the number of visas being
processed and the need to be thorough with the reviews, this can take as long 8 weeks.
Ask for a letter of invitation to attend at least four (4) months prior to the meeting. Contact Hans Cheng (hcheng@msu.edu).
NEW PROCEDURE starting with PAG in 2005: Pre-registration for the PAG meeting is
REQUIRED.
There is a new policy on Letters of Invitation starting with PAG 2011.
Starting with PAG 2011, to help control costs of the meeting, letters of invitation will be sent ELECTRONICALLY ONLY. According to the US State Department, these electronic letters should be acceptable for visa purposes. In the rare case where the US Embassy that you are submitting your visa insists on having a hard copy letter, then we will mail a hard copy letter to you.
Required Information for Letters of Invitation
1. How to address you in the letter? Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.
2. Your complete mailing address at your institution, not your home address.
2. The previous year(s) of PAG attendance (if you have been to the meeting in the past). This
information is often very helpful to show that you will leave the US following the meeting.
3. The title of your poster or presentation. This can be a tentative title. Please remember that all
oral presentations are by invitation only. And if it is a workshop presentation, then provide the name
of the workshop.
4. Your telephone and FAX numbers.
Apply for visa at least four (4) months in advance. Six (6) months is even better.
During your interview provide your entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of visa application.
If completion of travel plans is contingent upon early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application.
Provide proof of scientific status.
Provide meeting brochure and letter of invitation.
Provide evidence that you are intending to return to your country of
residence. This includes such things
as:
1. Family ties in current country of residence
2. Property ownership
3. A bank account
4. An employment contract or statement from employer showing that position will continue after the dates
of the meeting
Requirements vary by passport-issuing country and citizenship (not merely residency). For the most current requirements and those specific to your situation, please check with your local U.S. consulate or embassy or the U.S. Department of State Visa Services Information Web site at http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html.
Please remember, each US Embassy (consular/visa section) in the country in
which the person wishing to come to the PAG meeting is currently working
in is the place the decision is made, e.g., if someone who is a citizen
of Freedonia working in a lab in the United Kingdom that person needs to
go to the US Embassy in London. If you are initially rejected, request a
written reason for the rejection and obtain the name and title of the
person who is in charge of the visa process at that embassy. Then send
this information with a request for further assistance to the PAG.
Hans Cheng,(hcheng@msu.edu)
is the contact person for getting letters of invitation
to attend the meeting, which will assist in the application process.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO APPLY EARLY FOR YOUR
VISA!! THE
ORGANIZING
COMMITTEE SUGGESTS YOU APPLY AT LEAST 4-6 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE PAG MEETING
FOR YOUR VISA.
For help and information and visa to the USA please check the following US Government web site:
http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/
NEW NEW NEW
The OISE website contains a link to visa information for foreign visitors:
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