On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 12:20 PM, Toerless Eckert <eckert(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com>
wrote:
[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]
Two wrongs don't make a right. Here is what most of the non-US,
non-European crowd goes through. I think contributors from Africa and
Middle East have it worst. Just another perspective from an Indian
contributor.
As an Indian, getting a Visa for US is a much more painful experience
(where you have to line up *outside the embassy* in the sun for one
day just to give your fingerprints before the application process
starts). The Schengen is just as painful. My Visa application for
Berlin (Germany) meeting was rejected because the embassy said it was
"forged". They did not bother to contact the person listed on the
letter. The Appeals process was long and it took some heroic effort
from the hosts (Deustche Telecom) to get the Visa. You cannot even
make a visa application without booking all accommodation _and_ air
travel. I had to submit 200+ pages worth of documentation (Which
included 3 years of my tax filings and company tax history) just to
get them to consider it. Similar story for a Vancouver meeting where
my visa was rejected.
BTW I don't doubt your story for an Indian Visa. Things have gotten
much better after a recent change in Government in the last 1.5 years.
So you might have asked when they were just introduced and were
trialing the e-visa stuff and there might not have been clear
instructions trickled down to the rank-and-file of the immigration
dept.
I think if the IETF is serious about getting more diverse opinions and
contributions, they should hold meetings in non-US, non-European
location, rants notwithsanding.
-- Vinayak