Passport and Visa Questions (For a US traveller)

A big thanks to everyone who replied. Especially Otabe! If anyone can give me a more in-depth answer about advance visas would be helpful. Like a step by step.

Say I was in Country A and want to enter country B. To get in I need a yellow card, an exit ticket, in addition to an advance visa. How do I prove I have the yellow card and exit ticket to get the visa?
Or do I get the advance visa, then show the ticket and yellow card at the border?

Also, how do you receive your advance visa? Have it sent to the hostel or wherever you're staying?

Hi,
Most noobs, as you describe yourself, aren't going to places where you'll have to worry about yellow cards, or do you have a faint idea of where you want to go? Many people can help here if you have a proposed itinerary.
The visa you almost always pick up in person in Country A, and the exit ticket is something that only sometimes you need, but it's a big world and there are lots of variables.
A great long-haul journey would be to go overland down through Latin America, and in that case you wouldn't have to worry about visas at all until Venezuela, Bolivia or Brazil, and only sometimes onward tickets.
-Kent

Theres no need to bight off the whole world, for the first trip. Unless you just want to, because you can brag about it.

Most friends will just think you're a fool. They really don't want to see many pictures. But boy! Do they love picture post cards. ;)

You learn about the world partially by talking with older locals. Or us geezers you talk with in hostels. You know... from those with life milage.

and from going to expat bars, and listening.

The best way, in my experience, is to ask "foreigners" questions and let'em talk. Hear 'em out. Just like You deserve.

Locals are more warm and open to familiar faces.

Follow through on this. Pick an area you're curious about. Ask us b4 buying airline tickets.

Roll your clothes in packing. So you can remove from pack, one at a time. Helps control wrinkles. too.

Hostels have washing machines and breakfast till 10 a.m.
And like minds. You don't have to be lonely, but travel alone. Mix to taste. Do double dips at museums etc. if and when You want to.

When groups or couples travel, they only talk to each other. When us yanks get together, we mostly talk about home.I see it all the time, here in Seville.

WE TRAVEL TO LEARN. AND
PARTIALLY MORE ABOUT OURSELVES.
*see profile

Depends upon the country that you want to visit. In many cases advance visas don't work because the visa is good for entry within 90 days.

For example with a Chinese visa for a US passport, get your visa before leaving home. If you get a single entry visa, it is good for one entry within 90 days of departing. Instead, use an agency and get a one year multiple entry visa (hopefully) with a 90 day stay. If you try to get a Chinese visa on the road, you won't be able to or you will be required to show tickets into and out of China which you don't need if you apply in the US.

For Russia, the tourist visa is date specific and can only be obtained a few months in advance. The alternative is a much more expensive multiple entry business visa good for a year.

Same thing for many countries. Vietnamese visa can't be applied for more than 6 months prior to entry.

Visas will never be sent to you. You must be without your passport for the period of time while waiting for the visa to be issued. That means that you must apply for visas one at a time.

In some cases, visas can only be applied for in the US but you can't get them prior to departure. In that case, people hole up in a cheap place for a couple of weeks and send their passport home to a visa service to obtain the visas they want.

Instead of asking here on the Long Haul branch, it might be easier to ask on each country how to get that visa and how feasible it is to get while on the road.

Ruth

ONE REASON THEY HOLE UP IS, YOU NEED PASSPORT HANDY, ONLY TO CHANGE PLANES AND HOTELS.
Sorry for da caps. Didn't notice.

Thank you everyone, special thanks to Everbrite and Otabe! Sorry for not getting back sooner. I had a change up in employment which has taken up much of my time. Contracting can be a pain sometimes :( Anyways...

Lets take China as an example, I want to go from Japan to China. Would I stop into the Chinese Embassy and apply for a visa there?

Lets take China as an example, I want to go from Japan to China. Would I stop into the Chinese Embassy and apply for a visa there?

No. As I explained above, there are some countries where you must apply at home and China is a good example. You can't get a Chinese tourist visa in Japan unless you have a residency permit and 6 months remaining on that permit. OTOH if you apply for a Chinese visa at home, you can get a one year multiple entry visa with stays of 90 days. Just use the Houston office of mychinavisa.com. It will cost more, but it is worth it.

If this is a real trip and not some fantasy exploration, then outline your plans. That way I can tell you more about those visas you need to apply for prior to leaving home and those you can probably get just as easily while on the road.

Ruth

Well, as requested!

Canada → New Zealand → Australia → Fiji → Vanuatu → Papua New Guinea → Micronesia → Indonesia → Malaysia → Philippines → Vietnam → Cambodia → Thailand → Laos → Sri Lanka → Maldives → India → Nepal → South Korea → Japan → China → Mongolia → (Trans Siberian Train) → Russia → Ukraine → Romania → Bulgaria → Greece → Macedonia → Serbia → Croatia → Hungary → Austria → Czech Republic → Poland → Lithuania → Latvia → Finland → Sweden → Norway → Denmark → The Netherlands → Belgium → UK → Ireland → Iceland → France → Germany → Italy → Spain → Portugal → Morocco → Algeria → Egypt → Jordan → Sudan → Niger → Mali → Senegal → Sierra Leone → Burkina Faso → Ghana → Togo → Benin → Cameroon → Gabon → Congo → Uganda → Kenya → Rwanda → Tanzania → Zambia → Malawi → Zimbabwe → Botswana → Nambia → South Africa → Argentina → Chile → Bolivia → Brazil → Peru → Ecuador → Colombia → Venezuela → Suriname → French Guiana → Trinidad and Tobogo → Grenada → St. Lucia → Martinique → Dominica → Antigua and Barbuda → Puerto Rico → Bahamas → Cuba → Jamaica → Cayman Islands → Panama → Costa Rica → Nicaragua → El Salvador → Honduras → Belize → Guatemala → Mexico

Yep....been planning and saving up for this for a while.

You need to do a lot more research instead of picking countries off of a map.

As I said in the above post, I have been researching this for a long time. I'll state it again. I have been researching the countries I want to visit for a long time. I know the requirements to enter each country. I wanted advice on the steps I need to take to go from one country to the next. I know now that some countries like China and Russia are more tricky then others to enter, and that is helpful.

A one-liner based on the assumption that I am stupid, is not helpful. If you have nothing helpful to post, please do not post.