International Puts the "I" in IMS

IMS Insider readers know that the “I” in IMS stands for “international” and that means this conference of microwave engineers reaches out to a global audience and attracts presenters from around the world. Based on the origins of submitted papers, this year will be no exception. By the “Call for Papers” deadline, the technical program committee received papers from 45 countries.

While the United States led in the number of papers submitted from one single country, the majority of papers came from outside the US. Asia should be well represented with proposed papers from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia adding up to a number of submissions just 15% fewer than the US total. The number of European paper submissions was also in this ballpark. And so, the microwave community is fairly well distributed across North America, Asia and Europe. Aspiring authors also hailed from India, the Middle East, South America and even Africa.

Should your paper be accepted and you travel to Boston to present it in person, now may be a good time to review the travel requirements from outside the US. A citizen of a foreign country, wishing to enter the U.S., generally must first obtain a visa, typically a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay. Effective January 12, 2009, the requirements to travel visa-free into the United States have changed. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries will still be eligible to travel without a visa, but will have to obtain an approved travel authorization prior to their travel to the United States.

Currently, the 27 countries shown below participate in the VWP. Some of the citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not need a visa to visit the United States.

Andorra | Australia | Austria | Belgium | Brunei | Denmark | Finland | France | Germany | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Japan | Liechtenstein | Luxembourg | Monaco | The Netherlands | New Zealand | Norway | Portugal | San Marino | Singapore | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | United Kingdom

Recommendations

To avoid frustration and disappointment:

• Advance planning by travelers is essential. Review your visa status and find out if you need a U.S. visa or a visa renewal.
• Plan to submit your visa application well in advance of your intended departure date. Contact your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for a current time estimate and recommendations.
• Visit the embassy or consular section where you plan to apply for your visa.
• Visit their website to find important information on how to schedule an interview appointment and pay fees. An interview is required as a standard part of processing for most visa applicants.
• Applicants must now also have two index-finger scans collected as part of the visa application process. These finger scans are normally collected by the consular officer at the visa interview window but in some countries they are collected prior to the visa interview.
  
  Visa Letters
  
  A visa support letter may be provided for authors and registered attendees. Further, spouses requiring visa assistance must be registered for an IMS Guest Program Event. Please submit your requests for letters of support well in advance of your interview dates to allow sufficient time for processing. Guest Program information can be found here.
  
  For additional visa assistance, please contact Dr. Zaher Bardai at zb@ieee.org.

The global reach of the microwave industry is truly impressive and we look forward to learning and sharing technical information with our colleagues from around the world as we gather in Boston.

[Back to the IMS 2009 web site]