Visa
The travel.state.gov site has information about obtaining a visa for those traveling to the United States. The site also has links to websites for U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. The embassy and consulate websites have very helpful information about procedures, timelines, communities served, required documentation, and fees.
International registrants should be particularly aware and careful about visa requirements and should plan travel well in advance.
The Association for Computing Machinery does not issue formal invitation letters for visas. We can however issue a visa support letter. All visa inquiries must be handled by ACM HQ. Please send your request for a letter in support of a visa application to supportletters@acm.org and include the following information:
- Name and mailing address as it appears on your passport
- The name of the conference you wish to attend
- Registration confirmation number
- If you are the author of any papers accepted for the conference, please provide the title
- Fax number (visa Support letters are not issued via email)
Travel
Phoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,601,587 people according to the 2009 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau, and is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area (also known as the Valley of the Sun), the 12th largest metro area by population in the United States with more than 4.3 million people. In addition, Phoenix is the county seat of Maricopa County, and is one of the largest cities in the United States by land area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix,_Arizona
Attractions
Phoenix is home to a large number of parks and recreation areas. Many waterparks are scattered around the valley to help residents cope with the harsh desert heat during the summer months. Some of the notable parks include Big Surf in Tempe, Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix in Glendale, Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa, and the Oasis Water Park at the Arizona Grand Resort - formerly known as Pointe South Mountain Resort - in Phoenix. The area also has two amusement parks, Castles N' Coasters in north Phoenix, next to the Metrocenter Mall and Enchanted Island located at Encanto Park.
Many parks have been established to preserve the desert landscape in areas that would otherwise quickly be developed with commercial and residential zoning. The most noteworthy park is South Mountain Park, the world's largest municipal park with 16,500 acres (67 km2); others include Camelback Mountain, and Sunnyslope Mountain, also known as "S" Mountain. The Desert Botanical Garden displays desert plant life from deserts all over the world. Encanto Park is the city's largest and primary urban park, and lies just northwest of downtown Phoenix. Papago Park in east Phoenix is home to both the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo, as well as a few golf courses.
Weather
You can get the information of everyday weather at: http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Phoenix+AZ+USAZ0166
