Travel Advise

1.Invitation Letters

If you need a letter of invitation in order to obtain funding to attend the GCGI conference or obtain a U.S. visa, just email GCGI-2022@sulc.edu with your request. Please include all necessary details: addressee, contents of letter needed, etc.

2. Visiting the U.S.

Note: All the following information was downloaded from U.S. government (.gov) websites on March 15, 2022, and links are provided. The GCGI has no expertise in visa requirements or travel requirements in general, and participants are responsible for making sure that their travel arrangements are properly authorized by the U.S. government.

A.COVID-19 rules

Basically, you must be up-to-date on vaccinations and must show a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before you will be allowed to travel to the U.S. by air: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/noncitizens-US-air-travel.html

B. Visas

A foreign national traveling to the United States for tourism or to conduct temporary business must have a visitor visa (B-2) unless he or she qualifies for entry under the Visa Waiver Program. Temporary business includes attending a business convention or conference (among other things) https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/business.html

C. Visa Waiver Program

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html#participating General requirements: In order to participate in the visa waiver program, you must meet all of the requirements. You must 1. be a citizen or nation of a participating country, 2. your travel purpose must be one otherwise permitted on a visitor visa, 3. your passport must be good for at least another 6 months, and 4. you must have a valid ESTA.

**To be eligible to travel under the VWP, British citizens must have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Under the 2015 Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, you do not qualify for the VWP if, even though you are a citizen of a listed country, if you visited one of the 7 countries listed as sponsoring terrorism (e.g., North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia . . .). If that is the case, you must apply to a U.S. embassy for a visa.

2. Travel Purpose:

As indicated above, attending a professional conference in the U.S., such as the GCGI, is a business purpose and therefore within the scope of the VWP (as is short-term tourism, if you will have family members accompanying you).

3. Each Traveler Must Have a Valid ESTA:

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta
In order to travel without a visa on the VWP, you must have authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a U.S. bound air or sea carrier. ESTA is a web-based system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to determine eligibility to travel under the VWP to the United States for tourism or business.

Updating Your ESTA
In most cases, your ESTA will be valid for two years. You also must obtain a new ESTA if you: (1) receive a new passport, including an emergency or temporary passport; (2) change your name; (3) change your gender; (4) change your country of citizenship; or (5) need to change your responses to any of the “yes” or “no” questions on the ESTA application. If that is the case you can apply for a visa through regular appointment processes at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, which may expedite the application process if necessary.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection strongly recommends that any traveler to the United States check his or her ESTA status prior to making any travel reservations or travelling to the United States. More information is available on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.

4. Each traveler must have an e-Passport good for at least 6 months after planned departure from the U.S.

You must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after your planned departure from the United States (unless exempted by country-specific agreements). For families, each member of your family, including infants and children, must have his/her own passport.
In addition, you must have an e-passport to use the VWP. An e-passport is an enhanced secure passport with an embedded electronic chip. The chip can be scanned to match the identity of the traveler to the passport.

7. Baton Rouge

From the French for ‘red stick’, Baton Rouge is the capital of the state of Louisiana and sits on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. According to the most recent census, its population is 227,470, while that of the greater Baton Rouge area is 456,781, exceeded in Louisiana only by New Orleans. Its foundation was strategic – it is. Situated on the first natural bluff upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, so unlike New Orleans, its business quarter was safe from seasonal flooding, though a levee system has since been built to enhance that safety. In addition to being the state capitol, Batton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical research, motion picture, and growing technology center in the American South. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the 10th largest in the U.S. in terms of tonnage shipped and is the farthest upstream Mississippi River port capable of handling Panamax ships.
Baton Rouge is home to two state universities: Louisiana State University and Southern University. Southern University System is the only Historically Black University System in the United States, encompassing four separate accredited entities: Southern University & A.&.M. College in Baton Rouge (SU), Southern University Law Center (SULC), (Southern University New Orleans (SUNO), and Southern University in Shreveport. The Baton Rouge land mass, which is shared by SU and SULC, is situated upriver from downtown Baton Rouge on Scott’s Bluff, at a bend in the Mississippi. Scott’s Bluff is a beautiful place to sit for a picnic or watch the sunset over the Mississippi.
Things to Do in Baton Rouge: Just a few suggestions
a. Downtown, one can tour both the new and the old State Capitols; visit the U.S.S. Kidd, a Fletcher-class destroyer (named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor); visit the Louisiana Art and Science Museum and the Capital Park Museum; dine in a number of restaurants. (Maybe watch the sunset over the Mississippi from the top of the Shaw Center’s Tsunami Bar and Restaurant).
b. Slightly farther afield: LSU Rural Life Museum, Magnolia Mound, Knock Knock Children’s Museum, Baton Rouge Zoo, . . .