Re: Tourist or business visa from US?

After you  register for the meeting, you have the option to request a  
letter of invitation. When you follow the link to request one, you are  
presented with the following text, in red:
----
IMPORTANT: If you need a letter of invitation for the purposes of  
obtaining a visa, you need an official letter from the IETF 79 host,  
Tsinghua University.
        • Please complete the LOI request form.
	• You will automatically, via email, receive the standard IETF letter  
of invitation (which you may find useful for internal company 	 
approval but which will not help you obtain a visa)
	• In addition, the form output will also go to Tsinghua University,  
so that the IETF 79 host can generate an official letter of invitation  
to use in the visa application. The host will contact you separately  
with your official letter of invitation.
-----

If you've already registered, you can refer to your registration  
confirmation email for the embedded link that will allow you to  
request the LOI.
On a separate note, when completing the form for your business visa,  
you will need to provide contact information for a local 'business  
contact'. This individual's contact information can be found here: http://www.ietf.org/meeting/79/faq.html#Inviter 
, which you can get to from either the visa FAQ page (http://www.ietf.org/meeting/79/faq.html 
) or the visa information page (http://www.ietf.org/meeting/79/ 
visa.html).
I think perhaps we provide more information about letters of  
invitation earlier in the registration process, and I will add some  
language to that effect.  And please feel free to suggest any other  
way we can improve the information, and the way we are presenting it.
Alexa



On Aug 24, 2010, at 4:01 PM, Ole Jacobsen wrote:

> The form requires contact info for your business contact if you are
> getting a business visa. Otherwise you can leave it blank.
>
> I will let Alexa answer the other questions.
>
> Ole
>
>
> Ole J. Jacobsen
> Editor and Publisher,  The Internet Protocol Journal
> Cisco Systems
> Tel: +1 408-527-8972   Mobile: +1 415-370-4628
> E-mail: ole(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com  URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj
>
>
>
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010, Mary Barnes wrote:
>
> > My understanding is that the only difference in paperwork is the  
> > letter of
> > invitation. Is there any other additional paperwork that is  
> > necessary?  I
> > would have thought that letters of invitation would be something  
> > the host
> > had anticipated would be needed by the attendees - at least a  
> > subset. The
> > wording on the meeting FAQ is somewhat nebulous as it notes that the
> > secretariat won't provide the letters and that one is needed from  
> > the host,
> > but there's no information on the process to request one.  Do we  
> > just send
> > an email to the individual listed as the contact for our visit?
> >
> > Mary.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 5:49 PM, Ole Jacobsen <ole(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com> wrote:
> >
> > > There is no visa waiver program for China, at least not for any of  
> > > the
> > > countries relevant to this discussion. You need a visa. Getting a
> > > tourist one is "easier" in the sense that it requires less paperwork
> > > and documentation. For a visit of duration ~ one week or so, there
> > > should be no issues with getting a tourist visa.
> > >
> > > Ole
> > >
> > >
> > > Ole J. Jacobsen
> > > Editor and Publisher,  The Internet Protocol Journal
> > > Cisco Systems
> > > Tel: +1 408-527-8972   Mobile: +1 415-370-4628
> > > E-mail: ole(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com  URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, 24 Aug 2010, Mary Barnes wrote:
> > >
> > > > U.S. customs is the least of my worries in this situation.  In  
> > > > the 15
> > > years
> > > > that I've been attending these sorts of meetings, I've never  
> > > > needed a
> > > visa
> > > > of any sort ahead of time.
> > > >
> > > > Can you please point me to an official website that suggests that  
> > > > there
> > > is a
> > > > visa waiver program for us attending the IETF meeting in China?
> > > >
> > > > Mary.
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 3:44 PM, Behcet Sarikaya
> > > > <behcetsarikaya(_at_)yahoo(_dot_)com>wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I agree with Fred.
> > > > >
> > > > > Many countries we go to attend IETF meetings would probably  
> > > > > require
> > > > > "business"
> > > > > visa but we go there as tourists on a visa waiver program. On  
> > > > > the way
> > > back
> > > > > as
> > > > > far as US customs are concerned the purpose is business but US  
> > > > > customs
> > > > > never
> > > > > asks why you did not get a business visa.
> > > > >
> > > > > Regards,
> > > > >
> > > > > Behcet
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message ----
> > > > > > From: todd glassey <tglassey(_at_)earthlink(_dot_)net>
> > > > > > To: ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org
> > > > > > Sent: Tue, August 24, 2010 12:38:00 PM
> > > > > > Subject: Re: Tourist or business visa from US?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On 8/24/2010 8:24 AM, Fred Baker wrote:
> > > > > > > In the many times I have visited  China, I have gotten a  
> > > > > > > business
> > > visa
> > > > > once,
> > > > > > and it was seriously not worth the  effort.
> > > > > > > I plan to get a tourist visa.
> > > > > > Except that now  the PRC is looking at the purpose of your trip  
> > > > > > and
> > > that
> > > > > > is to develop  intellectual properties so this is not a  
> > > > > > personal but
> > > > > > specifically a business  trip.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Does Cisco's legal department condone that Fred?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Todd  Glassey
> > > > > > > On Aug 24, 2010, at 7:43 AM, Andrew G. Malis  wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Is there a consensus that a tourist visa is  sufficient to  
> > > > > > > > attend
> > > the
> > > > > > > > IETF from the US?
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Thanks,
> > > > > > > > Andy
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-----------
Alexa Morris / Executive Director / IETF
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