Hotel & Travel

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A block of guest rooms for attendees was reserved at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel located at 50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116.

Resources and information for international participants traveling to the U.S. for the ICORS 2010.

The information below was provided by the Business Visa Center, U.S. Department of State. It is provided here as a resource and may not address completely each individual’s specific situation. You are encouraged to follow the applicable links below to understand more clearly the requirements that may be applicable to you based on your country of citizenship.

If you require a travel visa, you are encouraged to complete your application as soon as possible! If you would like to receive a letter of invitation as a supporting document for your visa application, please send an email to Jennifer Watson, Conference Administrator at office@icors2010.org.

From the Business Visa Center, U.S. Department of State

For the 36 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, citizens meeting the visa waiver criteria will not need a visa, but they must have a machine-readable passport. For more information on these requirements, please refer to http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html#countries.

Canadian citizens do not need a visa, but should visit http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1260.html for more information.

For citizens from all other countries, the type of visa the foreign citizen must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of travel. The U.S. Embassy Consular Section will decide, based on immigration law, about a particular applicant's eligibility for a given visa type from the information and documentation presented to the consular officer. However, we can provide this information. As a general rule, except for Canadian citizens and those who can travel on the visa waiver program, anyone who wants to attend a business, educational, professional, or amateur sports event, conference or meeting who is not a government official, will generally need a visitor visa (B1/B2). Media and journalists, including citizens from Visa Waiver Program countries, will generally need a media (I) visa. Government officials traveling for official purposes, representing their national government will need an A or G visa.

§ How to Apply for a Visa & More Website Information - The Department of State recommends our website at http://travel.state.gov as the primary source for current visa information. See visitor visa information at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1265.html. To contact any Embassy Consular Section worldwide for additional procedures, including how to schedule an interview appointment, pay fees, review local instructions and much more, visit http://usembassy.state.gov. Applicants should apply to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in his or her country of residence.

§ Scheduling Interview Appointments - Specific visa wait time for interview appointment information for each embassy or consulate, is now available on our website at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php. Since wait times vary by embassy and time of year, we strongly encourage travelers to review this information, updated weekly. Applicants should check the U.S. Embassy or Consulate website procedures for making an interview appointment. Embassy websites worldwide can be located at http://usembassy.state.gov.

§ Requesting Expedited Interview Appointments - If the date provided for interview is not early enough for the travelers intended travel, the applicant should follow the U.S. Embassy or Consulate website procedures for the "how to" request an expedited (or emergency) appointment. Consular Sections recommend that all requests note the date that the applicant need to travel and contact information (local telephone number) for the applicant. Please note that the decision to expedite an interview appointment is discretionary and depends on several factors, including the urgency of the travel and what U.S. national interests are involved. Consular sections will review the requests and grant expedited interview appointments within the constraints of their workload. Any expedite request should clearly explain why it is important (i.e., what is at stake) to expedite the case.

§ The Visa Process - Important Information - Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an applicant must overcome the presumption that he or she is an intending immigrant. An applicant must demonstrate, to the consular officer's satisfaction that he or she has strong social and economic ties to his or her country of residence, plans to remain for a specific, limited period, has a residence outside the U.S., as well as other binding ties which will ensure his or her return abroad at the end of the visit. An applicant may provide a summary of employment history, experience and expertise associated with the purpose of travel, particularly in cases where the applicant is recently employed or may have few years of work experience. It is important that the applicant has access to sufficient funds to cover the entire trip. Applicants for nonimmigrant visas must show that they qualify individually on their own merit under provisions of U.S. immigration law, and not based on the assurances of others.