Click here to download a visa invitation letter.

Unfortunately, ISA cannot provide any financial support for travel, registration fees, or local expenses.

On-site registration opens on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. EDT for exhibitors and on Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. for attendees. Attendees residing abroad are encouraged to register by December 1, 2007 to ensure timely receipt of Expo materials and to facilitate the visa application process, if necessary.

After identifying that a visa is needed, foreign travelers should contact the U.S. Embassy Consular Section in their country to determine visa processing timeframes. We recommend contacting the Consular Section via the Internet at http://usembassy.state.gov. Look for posted timeframes on the Internet or call the Consular Section to hear recorded information about visa processing timeframes. The State Department's recommended first source of up-to-date visa information is its Web site, http://travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html.

ISA recommends following these guidelines for getting a visa for entry into the United States:

• Request a letter of invitation to attend the annual meeting from the meeting organizer. The invitation letter should specify the subject, location, and dates of the activity. This should be done approximately four (4) months prior to the meeting.
• Apply early. The visa application process takes three to four months to complete.
• Applicants should present their entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of visa application.
• If completion of travel plans is contingent upon early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application.
• Provide proof of scientific status.
• Provide meeting brochure and letter of invitation.
• Provide evidence that you intend to return to your country of residence; applicants should provide proof of "binding," or sufficient ties to their home country or permanent residence abroad. This may include documentation of the following:
• family ties in home country or country of legal permanent residence
• property ownership
• bank accounts
• an employment contract or statement from an employer stating that the position will continue after the dates of the meeting

As of September 30, 2004, all foreign visitors including VWP travelers will be fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival in the United States.

Do I Need a Visa?

If you are a non-U.S. resident, you may need a visa to enter the United States for the annual meeting. If you already have a U.S. visa, please check the expiration date to make sure your visa will not expire before or during your planned travel dates.

International travelers, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, should review this important information on passport requirements for travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

All VWP travelers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present individual machine-readable passports. Previous one-time exemptions for first-time VWP travelers without MRPs ended June 26, 2005. In addition, depending on when VWP travelers' passports were issued, other passport requirements apply:

• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended on or after 10/26/06 - requires integrated chip with information from the data page (e-Passport).
• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06 - requires digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page.
• Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended before 10/26/05 - no further requirements.
• Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are exempted from biometric digital photo and chip requirements, but must be machine-readable.
• Italian, French and Temporary German Passports.

If a traveler cannot meet all of the requirements, he/she must obtain a visa for entry to the United States, and cannot travel without a visa on VWP. See Visa Waiver Program for additional information.

The current Visa Waiver Program countries are as follows:

Andorra	Iceland	Norway
Australia	Ireland	Portugal
Austria	Italy	San Marino
Belgium	Japan	Singapore
Brunei	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
Denmark	Luxembourg	Spain
Finland	Monaco	Sweden
France	Netherlands	Switzerland
Germany	New Zealand	United Kingdom

For more information about VWP and the biometric passport, please visit http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html.

Citizens of Canada

Currently, Canadian citizens need proof of both their identity and citizenship in order to apply for entry into the U.S. To learn more about document requirements to enter the U.S., see Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

Citizens of Canada traveling to the U.S. do not require a nonimmigrant visa, except for the purposes as described below.

• Foreign government officials (A), officials and employees of international organizations (G) and NATO officials, representatives and employees assigned to the U.S. as needed to facilitate their travel
• Treaty traders (E-1)
• Treaty investors (E-2)
• Fiance/es (K-1)
• Children of fiancées (K-2)
• U.S. citizen's foreign citizen spouse, who is traveling to the U.S. to complete the process of immigration (K-3).
• Children of a foreign citizen spouse (K-4) described above
• Spouses of lawful permanent residents (V-1) traveling to the U.S. to reside here while they wait for the final completion of their immigration process
• Children of spouses of lawful permanent residents (V-2) described above

Permanent residents (a.k.a. landed immigrants) of Canada must have a nonimmigrant visa unless the permanent resident is a national of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), meets the VWP requirements, and is seeking to enter the U.S. for 90 days or less under that program.

Citizens of Mexico

Citizens and permanent residents of Mexico generally must have a nonimmigrant visa or Border Crossing Card (also known as a "Laser Visa"). The Border Crossing Card, Form DSP-150 is a biometric, machine readable, visitor B1-B2 visa/Border Crossing Card that may be used to enter the U.S. from within the Western Hemisphere. Select Border Crossing Card to learn more about the requirements for this card.

Select U.S. Embassies/Consulates to go to consular sections in Canada and Mexico for more information about getting your nonimmigrant visa.

Citizens Bermuda

Citizens of the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda do not require a visa unless they have a criminal ineligibility, or have previously violated the terms of their immigration status in the United States. Currently, citizens of Bermuda need proof of both their identity and citizenship in order to apply for entry into the U.S. To learn more about travel requirements for U.S. and Bermudian citizens entering the U.S., see Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) for complete details.

For more information on entry and visa requirements for citizens of Canada, Mexico and Bermuda, please visit http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1260.html.