The Arizona Winter School is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF rules place some restrictions on the flights that can be reimbursed from NSF funds. The rules are slightly complicated so please read the following carefully.
The first step is to check whether there is a so-called "city pair" agreement between Tucson and the city you intend to fly from. At this website, type the name of your departure city (not the airport code) in the first box, enter Tucson in the second box, and click to search the current year. If the result is that there are no awards for the requested city pair, then you are in luck: you may use either a U.S. airline or an E.U./Swiss/Australian airline for your travel. However, if a fare appears, you must instead follow the rest-of-the-world instructions below.
In order to be reimbursed from NSF funds, your flight must be on a U.S. airline. If you are considering a flight that is a code share between a U.S. airline and a non-U.S. airline (for instance between United and Air Canada, or Delta and Air France), there are two ways to satisfy this requirement. If you actually purchase the flight from the U.S. airline, then you can be reimbursed, irrespective of which airline actually operates the flight. Alternately, you may purchase the flight from the non-U.S. airline as long as every segment is actually on an airplane owned by a U.S. airline.
For instance, suppose you wish to fly from Toronto to Tucson, connecting in Denver. If the Toronto-Denver leg is on an Air Canada plane, then the flight must be purchased from one of Air Canada's U.S. partners (e.g. United or Continental) to be eligible for reimbursement. However, if the Toronto-Denver leg is operated by United, then (since the Denver-Tucson leg will also be operated by a U.S. carrier) the flight can actually be purchased from Air Canada if you wish. Similarly, a flight from Brasilia to Sao Paulo to Houston to Tucson would have to be purchased from the U.S. partner, since the Brasilia-Sao Paulo flight will not be operated by a U.S. carrier.
There are rather strict rules about the documentation required in order to be able to reimburse non-U.S. citizens for conference related expenses. Please read this information carefully---without proper documentation, we will not be able to reimburse any expenses. Any questions about visas and reimbursements should be directed to Aubrey Mouradian in the Business Office of the U of A Mathematics Department.
Please bring your Permanent Resident Card with you for documentation purposes.
You can enter the U.S. without a visa and will automatically be considered a B1 visa holder. For reimbursement of any conference-related expenses, we will need your passport and an I-94 if one is available.
You will need to obtain either a B-1 or WB visa. Either of these visas will allow you to receive reimbursement for conference related expenses only. To determine whether you must obtain your visa before you travel, or whether you can obtain your visa upon arrival in the United States, see the visa website of the U.S. Department of State. If you will obtain your visa when you arrive in the United States, do not forget to ask the Customs and Immigration official to give you a business visa; we cannot reimburse you if you obtain a tourist visa. If you must obtain your visa before you travel, please request a letter of invitation from us to attend the workshop to expedite your visa processing.
If you are currently on an F-1 visa from another institution, the AWS can not directly reimburse you for any expenses. Rather, you will be reimbursed for eligible expenses by your home institution, in cooperation with the AWS. More information about this process will be provided to you after you have submitted the AWS lodgng survey. You must bring the following documentation to the AWS in order to begin the reimbursement process: Your passport, visa with F-1, copy of Form I-20, copy of SSN or ITIN if applicable and a copy of both sides of the I-94 card.
If you are currently on a J-1 visa from another institution, we will require a letter from your sponsoring institution authorizing reimbursement of conference related expenses and a copy of your IAP-66 form.
Please be sure to bring your passport, visa, or I-94 card with you to the conference.