Traveling to the United States

All visa applicants are advised to apply for their visa as soon as travel to the United States is contemplated, and not later than 3-4 months in advance. This means that international delegates should start the visa process during Nov. 2006 - Jan. 2007.

• Do you require a visa?
  travel.state.gov/visa/index.html
• How do you apply for a visa?
  www.nationalacademies.org/visas
• Check the status of a pending visa application more than 30 days old:
  www.nationalacademies.org/visas
  Click on Visa Questionnaire.
  Complete and submit.

PLEASE NOTE: Some consulates may have backlogs in scheduling visa interviews so applicants should first contact the consulate to find out how long the wait is for an interview. Visa wait times are available at: http://travel.his.com/visa/tempvisitors_wait.php

If you experience any difficulties regarding your visa application, please report your case by completing the questionnaire at http://national-academies.org/visas. To help the National Academies identify you as a BIO International Convention participant, please remember to include "2007 BIO International Convention in Boston, MA, May 6-9, 2007" as your answer to Question 14 - "Purpose of visit."

U.S. Visit Program

The U.S. Visit Program was launched in January 2004 to protect the safety of U.S. citizens and international visitors. Beginning Sept. 30, 2004, foreign visitors (including the 27 countries from the Visa Waiver Program) will now experience US VISIT's biometric procedures - digital, inkless finger scans and digital photograph - upon entry to the United States. US-VISIT procedures currently apply to all visitors (with limited exemptions) holding non-immigrant visas, regardless of country of origin. The quick and efficient processes are taking a few seconds in most cases.

US-VISIT is in place at Logan International airport. For more information on US-VISIT, please go to: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0527.xml or

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