Indeed, gaining entry into the US has become a more complex and lengthy process than in years past. But, with proper information and adequate planning it is not insurmountable. The American Association of Museums (AAM) and AAM/ICOM value the participation of our international colleagues at the AAM Annual Meeting (to be held this year in New Orleans, May 6-10, http://www.aam-us.org/am04/index.htm) and we truly hope that entry requirements will not deter our friends from joining us. The following links provide information from the U.S. government on current entry requirements and procedures that will be useful for anyone planning a trip to the U.S. I would be happy to hear of other useful online resources. Business or Pleasure Visitors, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/BusPleasure.htm General information about the Business or Pleasure visa, the type most often used for visitors attending a conference. Nonimmigrant Visas, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs http://travel.state.gov/nonimmigrantvisas.html Provides links to information about visas including processing time, locations, fees, application forms, border country requirements, photo requirement Links to United States Embassies and Consulates Worldwide, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs http://travel.state.gov/links.html Visit the consular section of these sites for specific information about getting a visa to visit the U.S. from your country. Visa Waiver Program, U.S. Customs and Border Protection http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/leavingarrivinginUS/how_do_i/vwp.xml Lists countries whose nationals can be admitted to the U.S. under limited conditions for a limited time without obtaining a visa. US-Visit Pamphlet, Department of Homeland Security http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/Pamphlet_BW_Web.pdf (English) http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/SP-pamphlet_bw-web.pdf (Spanish) Explains new entry and exit procedures for visitors with non-immigrant visas. We hope to see you here soon! Helen J. Wechsler Director International & Ethics Programs American Association of Museums 1575 Eye Street, NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20008 Tel: (202) 218-7699 Fax: (202) 289-6578 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Boylan [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 9:25 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Planning future ICOM International Committee meetings: (temporary?) visa problems for scientific and professional visitors to the United States I know that most if not all ICOM International Committees will be busy planning their 2004 annual meeting in Seoul. However, I thought that since Committees will be deciding during that meeting their future programmes for the following triennial period they would be interested to know that serious difficulties are being reported by many international organisations over meetings in the United States because of the current emergency "Homeland Security" measures that have been put in place as part of the USA's defences against international terrorism. ICOM has always had warm cooperation with the governments and other official bodies of countries where it or its constituent International Committees plan to meet, including the United States. I don't recall any significant problem about ICOM members attending meetings since the then USSR authorities objected at first to the granting of visas to the ICOM Israel delegation to ICOM 1977 in Leningrad and Moscow (since Israeli passports were not recognised at that time by the Soviet Union) - though happily, following strong representations from the ICOM headquarters and ICOM USSR, visas were issued to all in good time. However, the International Council for Science - the leading world body for scientific and academic cooperation - which represents 75 national academies and 27 international scientific unions covering almost every area of science, social sciences and humanities research - has recently considered the rapidly growing number of cases of problems with international meetings held in the United States. The ICS reports that there have had serious problems because many invited participants have either been refused visas to visit the USA for meetings, even after the personal attendance at a USA Embassy or Mission abroad (which is now required in all cases: postal or agency applications are no longer accepted), or where there have delays of several months before a decision on a visa application has been made. Recent examples of meetings significant numbers of those invited failing to get visas have included several major international academic and professional conferences, and even a World Bank expert meeting. It is also reported that an official United States Government conference on Afghanistan reconstruction virtually collapsed because not one of the Afghan experts officially invited by the United States were granted visas by the Kabul Consulate. It seems that because of current security concerns, at the moment very few, if any, visas for scientific or professional meetings, or for study in the USA, are being issued to the nationals of around 40 countries, including China, Russia, other former USSR countries, the Middle East, and some African countries. As a consequence the International Council for Science has now called on all its member bodies and their constituent organisations to hold their conferences outside the United States for the time being. While ICOM Committees will, I am sure, want to avoid such drastic action, it seems to me that they will want to be assured well in advance that every Committee member wishing to attend will be granted a visa, where this is required, even in these difficult times in terms of international and national security concerns. I have no doubt that prospective local organisers of meetings in the USA, and where necessary the AAM-ICOM Secretariat, will be able to advise, and where necessary negotiate the necessary assurances, as ICOM was able to do with the Soviet Government in respect of ICOM Israel members in 1977. Also, members in countries where visas are required for USA entry and who are hoping to attend ICOM meetings in the USA should be advised to apply for their visa around six months in advance of the meeting. Patrick Boylan Chairperson, ICOM - ICTOP (Training of Personnel) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html