Re: [102attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

[Artyom Gavrichenkov <[e-mail]>]

I have decided it's a good idea to be more explicit regarding this
piece. Answers inline,

> See the earlier comments by Andrew Sullivan

...which no one to date has bothered to give a hyperlink to (though
Mr. Eckert and me have both kindly asked for that quite a few times).

The best direction on where to look for those comments was: "Andrew
Sullivan's explanation on the IETF list". Nah. Never knew there's only
one mailing list in the IETF.

> and John Klensin.
> Everybody has to make their own decisions about this and get definitive advice specific to their individual circumstances from the relevant embassy/consulate. It’s that simple.

Sorry, but it is *not* that simple.

Though I'm somewhat younger and definitely less experienced than you,
I've lived most of my life under a citizenship which pretty much
doesn't get you a visa waiver in most of the countries out there, and
I have a different view over this one.

With all due respect to all the countries in the world, for *most* of
them, it is *not* possible to get a definitive advice from a consulate
or embassy. Sometimes the [visa] regulations are vague and unclear.
Sometimes, on the other hand, they are overly strict and the consulate
is afraid of assigning too much of permissions to you. Sometimes, the
consulate doesn't know much about those regulations at all and is just
acting according to their own common sense.

Each time you face it, it's one-on-one. The other side might be too
strict or too permissive. The more information you have, the more
definitive facts you're able to bring into play — the more chances you
have to ask the right questions and convince the other side to settle
on a decision which is best to you.

> > Is it an overly optimistic idea to bring someone from the host to the thread and ask them for advice?
> Yes. It’s utterly impractical to expect anyone to provide advice on visa issues which will or won’t apply to everyone going to an IETF meeting.

Repeating once again: "I'm perfectly aware there are complicated
scenarios out there which the host may not know how to handle, but the
case of a EU citizen coming to the proposed international event looks
rather straightforward and typical for me."

See? I wasn't speaking about "everyone" from the very beginning.

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