IFSS ACTION PLAN FOR FACILITATING THE ATTENDANCE OF DISTINGUISHED INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS TO TAMU CONFERENCES
(Please visit our Heighten Security link on our website for further and expanded information and the
sample
Letter B-1
Visitors for
Business .
For more
information on
B-1, visit the
following link
B-1_Visitor_Status
1.
College or Department organizing the conference should contact International Faculty & Scholar Services at least 7 months in advance to the commencement of the event in order to plan for those distinguished scholars that will be invited to the conference.
2.
Obtain resumes of distinguished scholars attending conference with reference to their last visit to the United States and their immigration status.
3.
Letter of invitation should be carefully drafted. Letters of invitation should contain:
- Brief description of the conference or event, in layman's terms if possible
-Open forum nature of the conference or event
-Reference to the publication of proceedings
- Reference to the fundamental research nature of the discussions (public domain)
- Description of the degree of involvement of the scholar at the conference/event
4.
Cover letter from TAMU to United States Consulate where the visa will be petitioned. Letter should contain a confirmation of the invitation plus the information listed for the letter of invitation per se.
5.
In addition, distinguished scholars, at the time of the interview for their nonimmigrant visa, may want to provide the Consular Officer with additional information such as:
- Complete resume with list of publications and some samples
- Description of the specifics of their work and points of contact in their home countries
- Letter of support from the institution or entity where they are employed
The last two bullets could be merged into a letter from their employing institution. It should be noted, however, that a well drafted letter of invitation from TAMU and additional documentation pertaining to the conference/event should be sufficient without the need of any other supporting documentation on the part of the scholar.
Note that there are other issues that may affect the timeframe in which the visa is issued to a distinguished scholar. For example:
A.
Citizens of some countries require additional security processing that may take between 20 days and 3 months or more. Although there is not a formal list published citizens of the following countries appear to require additional time for security clearances:
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Afghanistan
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Jordan
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Saudi Arabia
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Algeria
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Kenya
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Somalia
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Bahrain
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Kuwait
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Sudan
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Bangladesh
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Lebanon
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Syria
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Djibouti
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Libya
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Tunisia
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Egypt
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Malaysia
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Turkey
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Eritrea
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Morocco
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United Arab Emirates
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Indonesia
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Oman
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Yemen
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Iran
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Pakistan
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Iraq
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Qatar
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B.
Individuals from one of the seven countries designated by the Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan and North Korea.
C.
If the nature of the conference, although in the public domain, falls within one of the fields listed in the Technology Alert List.
D.
If the individual subject to additional security checks after the consular interview the Consular Officer will proceed to request a Security Advisory Opinion (SAO)
