| About U.S. Visa |
There are two categories of U.S. visas: immigrant and nonimmigrant.
Immigrant visas are for people who intend to live permanently in the U.S. Nonimmigrant visas are for people with permanent residence outside the U.S. but who wish to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis – for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study.
A citizen of a foreign country, wishing to enter the U.S., generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The type of visa you must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel. For an overview of the types of nonimmigrant visas available under immigration law, please see Nonimmigrant Visa Classifications on the USCIS website. The Consular Officer at your embassy or consulate will decide what kind of visa you need, when you apply.
| Visa Waiver Program |
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. VWP eligible travelers may apply for a visa, if they prefer to do so. Not all countries participate in the VWP, and not all travelers from VWP countries are eligible to use the program. VWP travelers are screened prior to admission into the United States, and they are enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT program.
Currently, 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program, as shown below: Visa Waiver Program - Participating Countries.
| Andorra | Iceland | Norway |
| Australia | Ireland | Portugal |
| Austria | Italy | San Marino |
| Belgium | Japan | Singapore |
| Brunei | Liechtenstein | Slovenia |
| Belgium | Japan | Singapore |
| Denmark | Luxembourg | Spain |
| Finland | Monaco | Sweden |
| France | the Netherlands | Switzerland |
| Germany | New Zealand | United Kingdom |
International travelers, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, should review some important information on passport requirements for travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Please click here for more information about Visa Waiver Program
| How To Apply |
Advance travel planning and early visa application are important, since visa applications are subject to a greater degree of scrutiny than in the past. If you plan to apply for a nonimmigrant visa to come to the United States, you would like to estimate how long you will have to wait to get an interview appointment to apply for a visa.
Advance planning can smooth the visa application process for you.
Apply for your Visa well in advance of your travel! Important steps to remember:
- Review your visa status, and find out if you need a U.S. visa or a renewal.
- Make sure your passport is valid at least 6 months ahead when you are applying for U.S. Visa
- Review the visa wait times information for interview appointments and visa processing at each embassy and consular section worldwide available on our website at Visa Wait Times. Visit the embassy or consular section website where you will apply for your visa to find out how to schedule an interview appointment, pay fees and any other instructions.
- Plan on an interview at the embassy or consulate, which is required for most visa applicants. As part of the visa interview, a quick fingerprint scan should be expected. Applicants who need additional screening are informed during the application process.
| Where to apply |
You can apply for visa in U.S.A from U.S Embassies or Consulars in your home country.
Click here for list of US Embassies
It is important to thoroughly review all information on the specific Embassy's Consular Section website for local procedures and instructions, such as how to make an interview appointment.
| How to obtain a GrC 2007 invitation letter |
The GrC 2007 Organizing Committee is not responsible for establishing your travel arrangements or obtaining visas. However, in order to assist with the travel visa application process, we will provide upon request a letter of invitation to attend GrC 2007 to authors of papers that have been accepted and to non-authors who have paid the conference registration fee.
Since Dr. T.Y. Lin will be travelling from Aug 17,2007 to Aug 23, 2007,
if you wish to receive an invitation letter to help with your visa,
then submit the information listed below to :
grc@cs.sjsu.edu
with subject: request an invitation letter (GrC'07)
Include:
- Full Postal address :
(This includes your full name, pre-title and either your full work or home address. Make sure that you include room or apartment number (if required), building, street, city, state, postal code and country) - Phone number :
(home or work): - Your full name :
(as it appears on your passport) - please use CAPITAL letters for your family name, please include your pre-title (Dr., Mr., Ms.) (also called your last name or surname); - Your job title :
(for example: BS/MS/PhD student, Research Associate, Assistant Professor, Director of something, Research Scientist (companies/ government) etc.); - Your affiliation :
(university, company, organisation etc.): - Email address :
- Date of birth :
- Citizenship:
- Gender:
- Arrival and departure dates of your visit to the United States:
- Your GrC paper submission number(s) and title(s) where applicable:
This information is required so that we can send you a letter of invitation, but it does not give you a visa or guarantee that the US embassy will grant a visa.
Submit your request for a visa invitation letter as soon as possible, and in no case later than 10 Sept 2007, after which this service may not be available depending on other preparations for the conference. Please allow 3 days for an email response, or 3 weeks for delivery of a "paper mail" invitation letter for those who need that (sometimes 4 weeks as in the interior of China, India and several other countries).
This "normal" service is provided to GrC'07 attendees for free.
Special requests:
- Courier - We do not normally provide Fedex or other courier services, but in emergency cases a minimum 100 $US per courier applies for the courier itself and an administration fee, perhaps more depending on the destination. We will not be set up for doing many couriers. Again, do not leave your visa application to the last minute.
- Faxes - can be provided, but a maximum of 3 attempts to send it will be made, as fax reception in several countries is extremely poor and that can take a huge amount of time over several days. If a late request (after 10 Sept 2007) requires more attempts at sending the fax, a 10 $US fee will apply.
Note that GrC 2007 participants are responsible for conference registration, paying appropriate fees for conference activities, as well as assuming full responsibility for any travel and accommodation expenses, and their activities and arrangements while in the USA.
| Some Useful Links about Visa to U.S.A |
