Media advisory 1 - AGU Fall Meeting

New visa rules for non-US citizens attending Fall Meeting

1. U.S. visa requirements have changed!
2. Press registration information
3. Press registration form
4. Field trip planned
5. Who's coming

1. U.S. visa requirements have changed!

Reporters and public information officers from outside the United States who are planning to attend Fall Meeting should be aware of new U.S. visa regulations that go into effect on 1 October 2003. The new rules also affect citizens of countries who do not normally need visa to enter the United States.

The U.S. State Department requires citizens of many countries to obtain visas to attend a scientific meeting. In addition, citizens from visa waiver program (VWP) countries will require machine-readable passports or visas after 1 October 2003.

Countries in the Visa Waiver Program are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Citizens of these countries must have either a machine-readable passport or a visa.

AGU advises anyone who may need a visa for an AGU Meeting to apply early. Visa applicants should apply at least three months in advance. Security-related policies have greatly increased the processing time for visa applications. U.S. consular officers will now be interviewing most applicants as part of the application process. In general, to attend a scientific meeting, one should apply for a B-1 visa.

Information and the procedures to follow to obtain a visa or a machine-readable passport and suggested actions in the event of a visa delay or denial may be found at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Traveling_to_US.html

2. Press registration information

Press eligibility is limited to:

• Working press employed by bona fide news media: must present a press card, business card, or letter of introduction from an editor of the publication.
  
• Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, a regional affiliate of NASW, CSWA, ISWA, or SEJ; a letter from the editor of a recognized publication, assigning you to cover this meeting; or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2002 or 2003.
  
• Public information officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies: must present a business card.

Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must pre-register through the AGU web site or register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees.

3. Press registration form

The online press registration form is available at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/fm03pressreg_cgi.html This site also offers a printable form that may be faxed or mailed.

4. Field trip planned

Although planning is in the initial stages, we hope to organize a field trip on Sunday, 7 December, the day before Fall Meeting begins. This would make a Saturday arrival even more attractive for press registrants from outside the Bay Area, in addition to, in most cases, lower air fare. Further information will be provided in subsequent advisories.

5. Who's coming

The following have registered for Press badges as of the date of this advisory:

Andrew Bridges, Associated Press
Robert Irion, ScienceNOW
Dawn Levy, Stanford University
Emilie Lorditch, Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science
Naomi Lubick, Geotimes
Jan Null, San Jose Mercury News
Sid Perkins, Science News
David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle
Marijke Unger, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Alexandra Witze, Dallas Morning News

Note: Please see also the Media Advisory issued 23 July on this and other upcoming AGU meetings: http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0321.html