Visa Information

Conference attendees should directly submit their Visa applications to the U.S. Department of State. ACM provides a visa support letter that attendees can bring to their visa interview. As the visa support letter is not required to submit the visa application, we recommend submitting the application as soon as possible without waiting for the letter. Neither ACM nor FAccT has any control over the U.S. Visa application process.

Visa Support Letters

ACM is able to provide visa support letters to attendees as well as authors with accepted papers, posters, or members of the conference committee. ACM does not provide formal invitation letters.

For visa support letters, refer all requests to supportletters@acm.org. Please allow up to 10 business days to receive a letter. All requests are handled in the order they are received. The information below should be included with the request:

  • Your name as it appears on your passport
  • Your current postal mailing address
  • The name of the conference you are registering for. Only accepted authors may request a visa support letter prior to registering for the conference.
  • Your registration confirmation number
  • If you have any papers accepted for the conference, please provide the title and indicate whether you are the “sole author” or a “co-author”
  • Authors may indicate their paper title. If delivering a talk without a paper, speakers can provide the title of their presentation

Visa Application Information

The U.S. State Department maintains an overview of the Visa application process and relevant definitions. Additionally, the following key information may be of use:

Find the a location for a visa interview from the official list of U.S. embassies and consulates

Submitting your Visa application

  • We recommend that you submit your Visa application as soon as you can. Processing times (appointment wait times) for visa applications vary depending on the visa office and the time of the year.
  • A support letter is not used during the application process, though you may bring it to your interview.
  • The name of the conference you are registering for. Only accepted authors may request a visa support letter prior to registering for the conference.
  • Make sure you complete all parts of your application. A common problem in previous years is submission of an incomplete application.
  • Carefully read all instructions for the required forms and adhere to them strictly, see for example the DS-160 FAQ. Errors in your application may require you to reschedule your appointment
  • If your initial appointment is too far in the future, we encourage you to check appointment availability regularly. There is often the option to reschedule for an earlier date as new appointments become available.
  • Note that US embassies do not reimburse Visa fees if Visa appointment is canceled or Visa is denied