This web page provides important information for International Nonimmigrant Users (coming from abroad) who are planning to conduct experiments at the ALS. All users, including U.S. citizens, who plan to come on-site should refer to the On-Site Access page.
Planning your visit to the ALS
2 months before your planned visit to Berkeley Lab:
- Update your profile on ALSHub and let the ALS know the date you plan to arrive on-site (which is not necessarily your experiment start date). The User Office will direct your updated profile to the Berkeley Lab Shared Services Office if you need a new appointment and new badge to come on-site.
- Foreign nationals who are citizens of, or were born in, State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) should contact the User Office.
- Berkeley Lab’s Visa and Immigration Services office will help you obtain the right visa for your visit, if you need one. If you have already secured or are eligible for an ESTA / WB visa, be sure to let us know.
- The LBNL Foreign Visits & Assignments office will review your profile.
- You will be asked to provide immigration documents after your entry into the U.S., including:
- Most recent US entry I-94 record and passport ID page.
- In addition, if applicable: valid visa stamp issued by the US Consulate; current visa form such as DS2019; your local address in the U.S., and J-1 visa required medical insurance and repatriation coverage for the duration of your stay.
When you receive your approval to come on-site:
- After you have received your welcome letter from Human Resources, you may schedule a badge appointment. Note that the date of the appointment can not take place before the start date listed in your welcome letter.
- Please bring your I-94 form and government ID with you to your badge appointment.
- Your first day of access to LBNL may be before your first day of scheduled beamtime if, for example, you want to install equipment or prepare samples. However, you may not enter the lab before the start date listed on your welcome letter.
Notes
- Many ALS users who intermittently access the ALS for short visits travel using B-1 or WB business visas, unless they have a J-1, F-1, or H-1B visa or are US permanent residents. Please visit the Department of State website for more information. * Note: The visa type you need to use for your ALS visit will be approved by the Visa and Immigration Office at the Lab, and may not necessarily be a visa that you already hold.
- WT and B-2 tourist entry stamps are not accepted for visits to the Lab. You may review the information with HR Shared Services. When passing through US Customs, please stress to the reviewing officer that you are traveling on business and not a holiday/vacation/tourism. We have provided this letter for your reference to help prevent confusion, but the stamp selected is out of the Lab’s control.
- A list of Travel Documents that you should be carrying with you has been provided by HR Shared Services.
For more information
For additional information about the documentation requirements for International Nonimmigrant Users, see Berkeley Lab’s Visa and Immigration Services office website.
Find more information about working on-site as an ALS user, see the On-Site Access web page or contact the User Services Office.
