How about this for a twist: if you ask for an invitation (required for a visa), you are told you really, really don't need it. When I requested a visa from TTA, this is the response I got. Has anyone succeeded in getting a letter? -----Original Message----- From: KeeMoon Roh [mailto:ietf59@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, January 26, 2004 1:32 AM To: Eric Burger Subject: RE: [Fwd: Korean Visa invitation letter request for C-2 visa] Dear. Mr. Burger This mail is from 59th Local IETF Secretariats in Korea. Currently we are issuing invitation letters. There is one thing we like to tell you about Korean Entry Visa. USA Nationals who want to visit Korea just for a short-term tour or transit are permitted to enter Korea with no visa according to the principles of reciprocity or priority of national interests with a tourist/transit visa status(B-2, 30days). Event though, it is written that No-Visa Entry is for a short-term tour or transit, participating in short term conventions or meetings(less than 30 days) is allowed as well. I checked this out several times with Korean Embassy. Please refer to http://www.mofat.go.kr/en/visa/e_visa.mof USA citizens, who hold US passport, do not need VISA to attend the 59th IETF Meeting in Seoul Korea, Invitation letter is only for VISA issuing. If you need for some other reason, I can issue you an invitation letter without notarial certificate (not for submitting to Korean embassy). If you still need an invitation letter. please reply to this mail (ietf59@xxxxxxxxx). best regards, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kee-Moon Roh ??? ??? TTA (Telecommunications Technology Association) * Mobile : +82-11-1735-1161 * TEL : +82-31-724-0075 * FAX : +82-31-724-0059 * E-mail : kees@xxxxxxxxx ( TTA Secretariat ) * E-mail : ietf59@xxxxxxxxx ( 59th IETF Local Secretariat ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: Paul Hoffman / IMC [mailto:phoffman@xxxxxxx] > Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 4:07 PM > To: Steve Bellovin; ietf@xxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: visa requirements (US citizens) > > > At 2:31 PM -0500 1/27/04, Steve Bellovin wrote: > >I was advised by our corporate travel consultants that I should get a > >visa. Given the current international climate -- there was > an article > >in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal about how other countries > >are retaliating for the current U.S. fingerprinting and visa > application > >requirements -- this may be a prudent course of action. > > The Korean embassy page that is linked to from the IETF meetings page > (<http://www.koreaembassy.org/visiting/eng_visas.cfm>) makes it > pretty darn clear that US folks should get a visa. They do have a > link from that page saying how wonderful US-Korea relations are, of > course. > > Showing up in the airport without a visa and saying "but someone at > one of your consulates told me I didn't need one" may go over as well > in other countries as it does in the US... > > --Paul Hoffman, Director > --Internet Mail Consortium > > >