Travel to the US

Pacifichem 2010 will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.  All international attendees must have a valid passport from their country of origin to travel to the United States. 

If you are not a US Citizen, you will need to check with the US Embassy or Consulate in the country you will be traveling from about the visa requirements for travel to the United States. All international attendees must have a valid passport in order to travel to the United States. If a US visa is required, we recommend that you start the visa process as early as possible.

The U.S. Department of State has been working to improve the visa application process to accelerate the reviews and eliminate delays.  However, Pacifichem 2010 advises you to check with the US Embassy or Consulate in your country of residence about any travel and visa restrictions and begin your visa application process as soon as you know you would like to attend Pacifichem 2010.

• If you are a citizen of the country you are traveling from, we recommend that you apply for a visa at least 4 months in advance of your travel to the US.
• If you are not a citizen of the country you are traveling from (i.e, a third-country national), or you are working on sensitive technology, or if you have previously been denied a US visa, we recommend you begin your application process at least 6 months in advance of your travel to the US.

More information about travel to conferences in the United States has been prepared by the Office of International Activities, American Chemical Society (ACS).    A helpful document details the US Visa Process. For more information on the recent changes from the Department of State, please read Department Tackles Visa Delay for Researchers (by Cornelia Dean, The New York Times, June 2, 2009).

Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

Citizens of a few select countries may travel to the United States to attend a conference for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. For more detailed information see the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Withdrawing Your Presentation because of a Visa Denial or Delay

In the unlikely event  your visa application is denied or is pending after sixty days and you feel that you will not be able to arrive at the Pacifichem 2010 meeting in time to present your paper, please send an email to pacifichem@acs.org and to the organizers of the symposium in order to let them know to withdraw your paper.

You may register your concerns and visa problems with the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, which collects data on the visa denials of international scientists traveling to the United States to attend scientific conferences.