Re: [102attendees] [103attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

["Jakob Heitz (jheitz)" <[e-mail]>]

Here is the answer from the US Thai Embassy.
Nicely dodged the question.
I can just imagine trying to convince a border guard that no business is conducted at a conference.
All they have to do is ask: "Are you attending the conference in that hotel you are staying at?"
Say "no" and go to jail.

Regards,
Jakob.


-----Original Message-----
From: 102attendees <[e-mail]> On Behalf Of Mike Bishop
Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 9:35 PM
To: Toerless Eckert <[e-mail]>; John C Klensin <[e-mail]>
Cc: Ben Campbell <[e-mail]>; Niel Harper <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; 102attendees <[e-mail]>; Balazs Lengyel <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [102attendees] [103attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

Personally, I think the key takeaway of this is that we should probably have included some more precise language about visas in the mtgvenue docs or we should read the existing language to include new evaluations based on this experience.  What we wrote was:

      Travel barriers to entry, *including visa requirements*, are likely
      to be such that an overwhelming majority of participants who wish
      to do so can attend.  The term "travel barriers" is to be read
      broadly by the IASA in the context of whether a successful meeting
      can be had.

We're having direct experience now that another of these barriers to entry is determining whether a visa is needed in the first place.  If that can't be readily ascertained for participants from most countries, that might be a strike against a choice of venue.

I know that if Thailand shows up on the venue feedback e-mails again, I'll give feedback on that as a reason not to meet in Bangkok unless the Thai government seriously overhauls their immigration guidance.

-----Original Message-----
From: 102attendees <[e-mail]> On Behalf Of Toerless Eckert
Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 12:18 PM
To: John C Klensin <[e-mail]>
Cc: Ben Campbell <[e-mail]>; Niel Harper <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; 102attendees <[e-mail]>; Balazs Lengyel <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [102attendees] [103attendees] Visa problems - need a different invitation letter

On Tue, Sep 04, 2018 at 02:07:57PM -0400, John C Klensin wrote:
> Hi.
> 
> If only to keep mailing list traffic down, can I encourage everyone 
> who is speculating on what type of visa is needed to find the note 
> that Andrew Sullivan posted on the subject a few weeks ago and reread 
> it carefully.

Ok......... failed. Please provide URL.

> WIth a very small number of exceptions, the final decision about what 
> category of visa is, or is not, required belongs to the authorities at 
> the border when you try to enter the country.  If you appear with a 
> tourist visa or waiver and they ask questions and conclude that 
> category is inappropriate, you are either headed home or in for a long 
> conversation (and maybe an exercise in filling out forms) while your 
> status is sorted out.

Sure.

> If you
> have a letter from you local consulate or a copy of their web page 
> indicating that your choice was consistent with their guidance, the 
> actual border authorities might accept that as evidence that you 
> should get in on that category of visa, might accept it as evidence 
> that whatever decision you made was made in good faith, or might 
> ignore it entirely.

Sure. Sure. But also Visas do not guarantee entry either. I am also not aware of data points that entereing on visa waiver has a higher chance of failure on the places we go to. 

> Again, Andrew's summary and comments are much better than mine.

Please provide URL. The only one i found is that IASA can not provide legal guidance *doh* (obvious).

> But my point is that these decision belong to border authorities in 
> the country you are trying to enter

Sure.

> and we really cannot
> accomplish very much (other that causing noise on the lists) by 
> crowdsourcing opinions about what is needed or appropriate.

No idea how the points you made above are evidence for that conclusion.
With contradicting information from different consulates for the same trip, the insight i got from these mailing  lists was in the past a lot more useful than what consulates told me.

> This is one area in which IETF Consensus, even if it existed, would be 
> of little value.

I though the main benefit of this thread is more BCP than consensus.

Cheers
    Toerless

> best,
>     john

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--- Begin Message ---

Dear Sir/Madame

    For business purposes, visa is required.

    For your information, you could apply for the visa by hand or by mail at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C., or the Royal Thai Consulate General in Chicago, Los Angeles or New York. And you should do so approximately a month before your departure.



    And regarding the location/mailing information and required documents please check the homepage of the office in your area.



Best,
Visa Section
Consular Office,
Royal Thai Embassy,
2300 Kalorama Rd., N. W.,
Washington, DC 20008.
E-mail - [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>




On Tue, Sep 4, 2018 at 2:19 PM, [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]> <[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:


Name
         Jakob Heitz
Email
         [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>
Subject
         Visa
Message
         Is a business visa required to attend the IETF conference in Bangkok?
The IETF is an organization of internet equipment vendors that produces standards for internet equipment. We do not conduct commerce. More info at http://ietf.org/.
The conference is held on 3 Nov to 9 Nov 2018.
If I attend the conference, I intend to stay a few more days, but not more than 30 days in total.

Kind Regards,
Jakob.

--- End Message ---