VISA REQUIREMENTS

Conference participants should familiarize themselves with visa requirements well in advance of the conference. The 2011 Cryogenic Engineering Conference & International Cryogenic Materials Conference (CEC-ICMC 2011) organizers encourage you to apply for your visa as early as possible, at least 3 to 4 months prior to this conference.

Some consulates may have backlogs in scheduling visa interviews so applicants should first contact the consulate to find out how long the wait is for an interview. Visa wait times are available at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/wait_4638.html.

CEC-ICMC 2011 CANNOT INTERVENE with U.S. Embassies abroad or the State Department in Spokane, Washington on behalf of any participant.

However, if you need a personal letter of invitation to attend the Conference, please contact Centennial Conferences (email or fax: (001) 303-499-2599) and provide the following information:

Full Name
Organization/Affiliation
Complete Mailing Address (including phone and fax number)

NEW AS OF JANUARY, 2009 FOR TRAVELERS FROM VISA WAIVER PROGRAM COUNTRIES

A new requirement for International travelers arriving from Visa Waiver Program countries began January 12, 2009. Those travelers will need to have advance travel authorization from U.S. Homeland Security before their trip.

• This authorization is free of charge. Please click here for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.
• For more information about travel requiring Visas, please click here for the U.S. Department of State website.
  

PASSPORTS

As of October 26, 2006, any passport issued on or after this date by a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country must be an e-Passport for VWP travelers to be eligible to enter the U.S. without a visa. The most common way of visiting the U.S. without a visa is through the VWP. Click here to see the 36 participating VWP countries.

Effective January 9, 2009, foreign travelers to the U.S. intending to use the Visa Waiver Program ("VWP") will be unable to enter the U.S. unless they have been "pre-authorized" by the new online "Electronic System for Travel Authorization" (ESTA).
(http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/)

Travelers may log into ESTA as far in advance of their travel as possible but it is recommended no less than 72 hours before departure. The ESTA application asks for biographic, passport and other personal data, information about their proposed travel and stay in the U.S., and answers to questions similar to those on the I-94 document every visitor to the U.S. must complete prior to arrival. On submission, an ESTA tracking number is assigned. Travelers must log into the system to see the status of their case. In most cases authorization to travel is issued almost immediately. In some cases, authorization might take two or three days. A very small percentage of cases might be denied, based on patterns of answers, personal circumstances, or for random quality control measures. If the ESTA application is denied and the traveler still wants to enter the U.S., a visa application must be made at an appropriate U.S. Consulate before departure. In such instances the usual visa application process applies, which sometimes can be lengthy.

We urge Users who travel to the U.S. on the VWP to become familiar with ESTA and to accommodate this new process in their U.S. travel plans. Arrangements to travel to the U.S. should be finalized as early as possible and the ESTA application should be submitted as early as possible to allow time for a conventional visa application in the event of an ESTA denial so minimizing the possibility of travel delays.

E-Passports contain computer chips capable of storing biometric information, such as the required digital photograph of the holder. (You can identify an e-Passport by the symbol on the bottom center cover of your passport.) If your passport doesn't have this feature, you can still travel without a visa if it is a valid passport issued before October 26, 2005, and includes a machine-readable zone, or between October 26, 2005, and October 25, 2006, and includes a digital photograph. Older, but still valid passports issued by VWP countries between October 26, 2005 and October 25, 2006, must include a digital photo printed on the data page or the traveler will be required to obtain a visa.

Citizens of all other countries than Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, 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 must have (1) a valid passport that expires at least 6 months later than the scheduled end of their visit to the United States, and (2) a tourist visa, which may be obtained from any U.S. consulate. A charge may apply.

For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the "Foreign Entry Requirement" website of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov. International visitors can obtain a visa application at the same website.

U.S. Entry: Passport Required -- New regulations issued by the Homeland Security Department now require virtually every air traveler entering the U.S. to show a passport -- and future regulations will cover land and sea entry as well. As of January 23, 2007, all persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda are required to present a valid passport. Similar regulations for those traveling by land or sea (including ferries) are expected as early as January 1, 2008.

SECURITY UPDATES

Effective the first quarter of 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with the U.S.-Visit program, the organization responsible for the technology and analysis of fingerprints, will transition from collecting two fingerprints to collecting 10 fingerprints from foreign travelers to the U.S. This policy has been changed to ensure the safety of both international visitors and U.S. citizens. Records are kept on file for 75 years due to the likelihood of frequent visits to the U.S. over the course of a person's lifetime. A comprehensive privacy policy can be found on the DHS website.

This transition will not make the process any longer for those travelers who need to be scanned. Smaller, faster and higher quality next generation scanners are now in place to improve the security of our country. See pdf files: 10-Fingerprint Collection Fact Sheet and 10-Fingerprint FAQs.

IMPORTANT WEBSITES
U.S. Visa Policies
http://travel.state.gov/
US Embassies
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Traveling_to_US.html
Temporary Visitors to U.S.
http://www.dhs.gov/US-Visit
Step-by-Step Process to Obtain a U.S. Visa (pdf file)

US-VISIT:

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

• Applicants should be able to answer specific and detailed questions related to their purpose of travel, business dealings with the inviter, and their general business relations (as appropriate, depending on their job responsibilities).
• Applicants should be able to provide complete travel itineraries and (if appropriate) training schedules.
• Applicants who claim to have existing relationships with their inviters, or other U.S. entities, should provide clear proof of these relationships, for instance through purchase orders, correspondence, etc.
• Applicants should be able to explain how the applicant's visit will be funded.

PROBLEMS?
Any problems encountered in visa applications or in the admission process should be reported to the International Visitors Office by completing the questionnaire on their website at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/biso/visas/PGA_048197.

To help the Int'l Visitors Office to identify you as a participant, please be sure to include the name of our meeting (2011 Cryogenic Engineering Conference & International Cryogenic Materials Conference, CEC-ICMC 2011) in the "Purpose of Visit" field on the questionnaire. The International Visitors Office can inquire at the Department of State about the status of visa applications that have been pending for more than 20 days.

DISCLAIMER
Please note that this information is given in good faith but that the regulations may change and the only authoritative sources of information are the U.S. Government websites.