Passport & Visa Requirements for ATS 2012

Passports
Regulations require all persons traveling to the United States by air, land or sea must present a passport or other valid travel document to enter the United States. For more information, please contact the U.S. Department of State (www.travel.state.gov) or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov).

Visas
Many citizens of Canada and of the countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) can travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa, as long as they meet all requirements.

If you are not a citizen of these countries or are not eligible to participate in the VWP, please visit the U.S. Department of State Web site to find out how to obtain a visa. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact your nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for further information.

Please keep in mind that documentation requirements and visa wait times are constantly changing, and vary by country. Most countries will require visa applicants to provide supplementary information explaining the purpose of their travel. In this regard, providing a letter of invitation to ATS 2012 may be useful. Please e-mail such requests to inviteletter@thoracic.org.

Remember that having a U.S. visa allows you to travel to a port-of-entry—an airport, for example—but does not guarantee entry into the U.S. Once you arrive in the U.S., an official will need to interview you and verify your paperwork in order to grant you admittance to the country.

Because visa applications are now subject to a greater scrutiny than they have been in the past, it is important to apply well in advance of your travel departure date.

For more information regarding passport and visa requirements and services, please visit http://conference.thoracic.org/2012/Attendees/travel-passport-and-visa-requirements.php.

Visa Waiver Program Countries

As the countries participating in the VWP are subject to change in the coming months, the ATS encourages attendees to regularly check the Electronic System for Travel Authorization Web site for updates at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta.  

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brunei
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom