Page History

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C. Shuttles for Spill-over hotels: There an issue at the Toronto meeting concerning cab-fare for community members traveling from non-venue hotels. Previous ICANN meetings had sponsored shuttle buses from hotels which were even within walking distance but there were not shuttle buses in Toronto. Staff has indicated that this often organized in an ad-hoc fashion. Going forward the Chair will request specifics on shuttle buses prior to each ICANN meeting so the community is aware of the situation. Additionally, Travel staff responded to this question by stating that At-Large had received Per Diems and this should have been used for cab-fare.   Nor is this response sensitive to the issue of fairness,  the Per Diem is the same for those at the remote location and those at the host hotel.  This is not the correct response or the most economical solution. A better plan would be to arrange for a once-per-day shuttle van service for At-Large representatives who are expected to be present at 7AM capacity building sessions (in cases where there is no ICANN shuttle bus). At-Large community members will collaborate on this issue but our assumption from previous meetings was that there would be shuttle buses. As a community we are very concerned about creating "classes" within At-Large, to avoid this we are working to ensure that everyone is treated equitably.

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1. The phone numbers and email addresses provided for the U.S.-China consulate are incorrect. The address WEBMASTER@CHINA-EMBASSY.ORG does not accept email, the correct address is chinavisadc@gmail.com
2. There is some confusion over the need for an original invitation letter. CNNIC insists that an original letter is not needed and travelers need to check with their consulate as to whether an original letter is needed. The response from the local consulate was "Generally, the invitation letter may be submitted as a fax, copy or printout. If necessary, the consular officer will ask the applicant to submit the original invitation letter." So, this becomes a problem of timing. If a visa application is submitted and the consulate then requests an original letter it may take "up to two weeks" to get it. Will there then be enough time resubmit the application?
3. Applying for a visa. According to the instructions "Mailed applications are not accepted" and that an applicant may "entrust someone else or a travel/visa agent to submit your application at the visa office." There is no explanation in the staff instructions as to what a "China visa processing company" is or how to find one if an applicant does not live near a consulate.

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1. One travel document issued by staff had an incorrect passport expiration date: DOUBLE-CHECK ALL OF YOUR DATA. Do not assume someone else has done it correctly.
2. The advice by Travel to book your VISA in December which is four to five months in advance is not consistent with other

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1. travelers to China opinions.  They argue that  you should order your VISA  so much in advance but more like three months 

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1. maximum  They claim that you can stale date your VISA application if you go to China after three months.  The  start date of VISA  is the date the visa is ordered and the clock starts clicking.
   

The Chair recommends all At-Large travelers share their experiences here either by posting them in the comments of this page or by contacting the Chair directly. 

B. ICANN has supplied links for travel advisories and general information.

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