Recliner wrote:
"Roland Perry" wrote in message

In message , at 11:20:22 on
Sat, 24 May 2008, Recliner remarked:

I think journos need visas, unlike most other people going to the US
on business.
One reason for that is journalists are *working* when they are in the
USA. That's why I was quite precise when I talked about "business
meetings" (also "attending Conferences" is OK). I've seen reports of
people being prevented from entering the USA to give a training
course, for example, which is also too close to "working".

It's a bit ambiguous, isn't it? Is attending a conference or business
meeting not "working"? How about attending a conference where you may
also be speaking?

As long as you are not getting paid specifically in the US for attending
the conference or delivering said speech, I believe you do not need a
visa. Those are pretty much reciprocal arrangements between US and the
Visa Waiver countries, and the same rules apply in the reverse
direction, except oddly for going to Belgium, where technically if a US
citizen goes for a business meeting and stays more that 7 days they are
supposed to get a visa. But AFAIK that rule is mostly ignored. and has
probably been rescinded by Belgium since when I became aware of it a
year or two ago.