Letters of Invitation

Many of the International participants in the annual ATSSA Convention and Traffic Expo, require letters of invitation for the purpose of obtaining a valid visa for traveling to the United States.

With the increased level of global terrorism and international fraud, safety and security issues need to be addressed in every aspect of business today. The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) has crafted the following policies and requirements according to expert recommendations and policies listed by the United States State Department and Department of Homeland Security. All guidelines must be met prior to the issuance of an invitation letter.

Policy Regarding Requests for Invitations to ATSSA Events

State Sponsors of Terrorism

ATSSA, in accordance and support of the United States War on Terrorism, will not issue invitations to citizens or companies headquartered in any of the seven countries listed by the State Department as sponsors of terrorist organizations. The seven countries are as follows: Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

All Other Countries

International members and meeting participants, who would like to attend our annual meeting and trade show or any other ATSSA meeting require a letter of invitation in order to process visa requests, must register and pay in advance for the ATSSA meeting they will be attending. Registration payments must be made in U.S. funds by a check drawn on a United States bank. All checks must clear prior to issuance of an invitation letter. Credit cards and wire transfers will not be accepted! Each registrant must also be able to supply the following information – failure to supply data will result in refund of registration fees (if applicable) and no invitation letter will be sent:

Participant’s Full Name
Company Name
Company Mailing Address
Phone Number
Fax Number
Email Address

Once all information has been received and verified and funds are collected, a letter of invitation will be sent to the registrant via fax only. Additionally, letters will be sent to the consulates of those same registrants.

All fraudulent or suspicious registrations and inquiries will be forwarded to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security.

Although the visa process remains virtually the same as prior to September 11, 2001, all international members and guests are reminded that the processing of visa requests may take longer due to security checks. We encourage you to contact the Consular Section of the embassy or Consulate near your location to determine the length of time required to process your application. Additionally, once a visa has been issued, all pertinent paperwork – visa, passport, invitation letter, meeting brochure/materials, planned itinerary – should be carried with you while traveling to and entering the United States. You may visit www.UnitedStatesVisas.gov for more information on current US visa policies and procedures.

If you have any questions regarding the policies listed above, please contact Melanie Myers at 540.368.1701 ext. 112 or via email at melaniem@atssa.com