There have recently been a number of cases of scientists being unable to obtain visas
in time to allow them to attend meetings in the USA. These have mainly been the
result of late visa applications. It is very frustrating for the individuals concerned but
there is little that ICSU or the US-NAS can do to help scientists who apply late for
visas.
The clear advice from the US State Department is that scientists should apply for entry
visas to the USA a minimum of three months prior to the desired entry date. This
applies particularly to nationals of certain countries, including China, India and Russia
and, for which additional security clearance procedures and/or backlogs in
applications, have led to extra delays in the visa approval process. There are also a
limited number of countries, including Pakistan, for which visa approvals are taking
even longer.
In addition to ensuring early applications from individuals, those with responsibility
for organising international meetings in the USA are strongly encouraged to register
these meetings via the US-NAS, at http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/ .
To date, the problems that have been reported to ICSU relate mainly to meetings in
the USA. However, security clearance for some nationalities, most notably Iranians,
wanting to enter the European Union has also been tightened and it is likely that visa
issuance periods will increase in many countries. Thus, it would be wise not only to
adopt the minimum three-month visa application period as a general rule for all
international meetings but also to make careful enquiries as to visa regulations and
issuance times before deciding on a meeting destination.