Visa Information

Visa Information for Travel to the USA

Visitors to the USA must have a valid passport. A visa is required for citizens of countries that do not participate with the Visa Waiver Program with the United States. Conference participants should familiarize themselves with visa requirements well in advance of the conference. The FTC 2023 organizers encourage you to apply for your visa as early as possible, at least 3 to 4 months prior to the conference. Learn more about the list of countries participating in the Visa Waiver program.

How to Obtain a Visa
Complete information on how to apply for a VISA to enter the US can be found on the U.S. Department of State’s website.

Attendees of a scientific conference should apply for a “Business (B-1)” Visa. Learn more about obtaining a Business Visa.

You may apply for a Visa. You must: 1) complete the online visa application and 2) print the application form confirmation page to bring to your interview.

Request for Visa Support Letter

For security purposes, the conference has policy for issuing official Visa Support Letters as follows:

  • Visa Support Letters will be issued only after you have successfully registered and paid for your conference.
  • Visa Support Letters can only be issued for registered attendees of the conference. Unfortunately we cannot issue Visa Support Letters for guests of attendees.

Visa Support Letters will be issued via email in PDF format. Please contact the Conference Manager at [email protected] to arrange for a Visa Support Letter. You must include:

  • Your name as appears on your passport
  • Your Date of Birth
  • Your Passport Number
  • Passport Date of Issue
  • Passport Date of Expiry
  • And, if you are an author of an accepted paper or poster, please provide the title.

Note: Obtaining a Visa Support Letter from FTC 2023 will not guarantee that your US visa application will be approved. The letter is merely supplementary information that explains a visa applicant's intended purpose of travel to United States.

Interview Preparation
As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for visa applicants from age 14 through 79, with few exceptions. Persons age 13 and younger, and age 80 and older, generally do not require an interview, unless requested by embassy or consulate.

  • Applicants should be able to answer specific and detailed questions related to their purpose of travel, business dealings with the inviter, and their general business relations (as appropriate, depending on their job responsibilities).
  • Applicants should be able to provide complete travel itineraries and (if appropriate) conference schedules.
  • Applicants who claim to have existing relationships with their inviters or other U.S. entities, should provide clear proof of these relationships. For instance, through purchase orders, correspondence, letters of invitation, etc.
  • Applicants should be able to explain how the applicant’s visit will be funded.

NOTE: Proof of purchase of an airline ticket is not an item requested by the embassy to document your itinerary for your trip. No assurances regarding the issuance of visas can be given in advance. Therefore, final travel plans or the purchase of non-refundable ticket should not be made until a visa has been issued and you are in receipt of the passport.

Estimated Wait Times for interview in your home country

Helpful Links
A step-by-step outline of U.S. Visa application procedures

Disclaimer
Please note that this information is given in good faith but that the regulations may change and the only authoritative sources of information are the U.S. Government websites.