-1. I think the IETF/IAOC job for planning locations was and
should include these considerations. I would expect that Argentina
was also selected based on the expecation that everybody could
get a visa and mot folks don't even need one. And i very much i am proven
wrong to worry that this might not be the case.
But this is the second country where i can not find on their website an
authoritative statment whether i would need a visa or not. All i have is
one website in german that claims i need to. The recommendation
made by someone on this thread to not get a visa and then declare at
immigrations what i want to do (attend IETF conference) and then risk
the chance of a "oh, you'd needed a business visa for that" is IMHO not
sane business ravel planning. Neither is lying. I can do that all day
long on private travel, but not when i expect an employer to pay for the trip.
And when i do not want to ensure that i do not get a 24 hour roundtrip flight.
[rant]
My data point why i worry is simple: I went to india last week to
meet colleagues. Now India has this new e-tourist visa process. Simple,
online, uncomplicated. As opposed to their normal visa process which
changes every year, and which last time had me standing in line in a consulate
forever just to be then sent back with "oh, as a non US-citizen you can not
come in person to deliver your paperwork" (2014) And finally i had to give
up on a planned 2014 trip because i couldn't find the time to give up my
passport for three weeks. So this year, i called up the consulate phone line
and got no precise answer about e-Tourist visa for a "business" trip, but
rather something like "oh, well, if you want, get a visa". So i asked around
in my company whether i could/should use that e-visa process and everybody i
asked said that it is a risk to do that because they might turn you around at
immigrations in Bangalore. As opposed to the real visa where thats never (from
their memory) happened.
And alas, i know someone who arrived 2AM in bangalore from a 9 hour trip and
got
turned around (no visa) into the 4AM machine flying back. Fun trip (not).
The airlines are even forced to always keep a seat empty to accomodate for
that situation. And if there are two folks, and the plane is otherwise full,
you go to detention until the next plane.
[/rant]
as a typical american, i never travel, fear trains, and have a generally
hard time dealing with these things. so i bow to your clearly superior
expertise.
randy