DC in 2021 has prepared a fact sheet to give some basic information and data regarding traveling to the United States from a foreign country. Executive Summary below, full document here:
DC in 2021 understands that some concerns have been expressed regarding potential challenges Worldcon members may have in traveling to Washington, DC for a Worldcon. To ameliorate these concerns, we analyzed the attending membership and day pass data for the three most recent World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons) (2017, 2018 and 2019). Our key conclusions are:
- Thirty-eight (38) countries participate in a Visa Waiver Program with the United States. As 77% to 90% of Worldcon members are from one of these 38 countries they would not need a visa to attend Worldcon in the United States.
- Of the remaining Worldcon members who need to apply for a visa, our analysis indicates that at least 85% of the applications will be approved. The visa approval data that is available is based on all applications under this visa class for each year and not specific to Worldcon membership. We anticipate the actual approval rate to be significantly higher.
DC in 2021 is committed to supporting our members in this area by:
- Having a form for DC in 2021 members to request a visa support letter available beginning January 1, 2020.
- Refunding memberships upon request for those DC in 2021 members who seek a visa support letter from us and are denied a visa.
Our complete conclusions and data analysis are in the rest of this document along with links to the relevant publicly-available information on this topic.