On my most recent trip abroad, I brought the original signed copy of my letter of invitation to attend a conference, and I handed it directly to the border agent; this letter provided the full contact information for the inviter, so that my invitation could immediately be verified if needed. I also had with me copies of my hotel reservation so that they would know exactly where I was going to be housed, and for how long. I plan to do this for all future trips abroad, even to Canada, where I have lived twice. Best wishes, Val Smith University of Kansas
________________________________ From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news on behalf of Jeremy Fox Sent: Wed 10/28/2009 11:13 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] A WARNING FOR PROFESSIONALS GOING TO THE UNITED KINGDOM The same thing recently happened to Jorge Cham, the cartoonist who draws PhD Comics, when he tried to enter the UK for a lecture tour. A cartoon describing his experience is here: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php (Oct. 26 comic). If I were visiting the UK in the near future to meet with colleagues or give a talk or etc., I would be sorely tempted to simply tell the border agent that I was visiting as a tourist and would not be doing any work whatsoever, volunteer or otherwise.
