Airport information
Visitors to Chattanooga may arrive via Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, also known as Lovell Field. Chattanooga Metropolitan airport connects to 13 major United States airports. For more information on connecting airports, visit:
http://www.chattairport.com/
Travelers may also opt to fly into Nashville International Airport or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and drive to Chattanooga. Each of these airports is served by low-fare carriers and is about a two-hour drive from the Chattanooga area, via Interstate 24 to Nashville or Interstate 75 to Atlanta.
Shuttle from airport to Downtown Chattanooga
From the Chattanooga Airport, you may want to arrange a shuttle to your hotel. One shuttle service you might use is: Millenium Transportation*.
Millennium Taxi Service, LLC
2145 South Holly Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404
Ph: 423-267-2008
Fx: 423-267-1756
Group rate for group shuttle is $10 per person each way, or $20 per person by individual taxi each way. Please see brochure for service here.
*The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and the Local Organising Committee make no recommendation and assume no liability for the services and or products offered.
SCB meetings and getting a visa to enter the US The meeting has been registered with the International Visitors Office of the US Department of State. The International Visitors Office of the U.S. National Academies maintains a list of meetings held in the United States that are sponsored by national or international scientific, technical, and medical organizations, and by universities and research institutes. This list is shared with the U.S. Department of State Visa Services and is disseminated to United States consular officers worldwide. We can also provide names to this bureau. We discourage any illegal immigrant to use our meeting to try to get a visa to enter the US as we will communicate their names to the US Department of State.
Do I need a visa to enter the US? Citizens of 27 countries do not need a visa to enter the US.
Note: some important information is available here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html
When should I apply for a visa?
If you need a visa to enter the US and attend the meeting, please apply for your visa as early as possible—and at least 3 months before the meeting: March 2008 would be the best.
Wait time by cities
Some consulates may have backlogs in scheduling visa interviews so applicants should first contact the consulate to find out how long the wait is for an interview. Visa wait times are available at: http://travel.his.com/visa/tempvisitors_wait.php
What type of visa?
We recommend that you seek a business B-1 visitors visa. This visa is appropriate for travel for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention, or conference on specific dates. Also, if you have complaints on your case, you will be able to report it to the Business Visa Center ONLY for this type of visa.
Applying for a visa: what should I do?
Please go to the official information on the visa application process: http://travel.state.gov/visa.
Refer to the document: “Obtaining a U.S. visa: A step-by-step outline of today's U.S. visa application procedures” (pdf file) for more information. You can find more information on the International Visitors website of the National Academies: http://www.nationalacademies.org/visas
Visa, invitation letter and registration to the meeting
Note that we do not send any invitation letter to people who did not pay their registration fee. This proof of payment is one of the requirements to apply for a visa. The registration opens on January 23 2008. Please go to www.conbio.org to verify if registration is open, register and then ask for an invitation letter.
Again, NO invitation letter will be sent until we have received your full registration payment.
More information
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1304.html
My case has been pending for more than 20 days, what can I do?
Please report your case to the National Academies by completing the questionnaire you can find here:
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Visa_Questionnaire.html
Please, include the name of the meeting in the "Purpose of Visit" field on the questionnaire.
DO NOT complete the questionnaire if you haven’t been waiting for more than 20 days: they will not be able to help you.
Please note that the Business Visa Center will only be able to help you if you applied for a business B-1, visitor visa.
