Important Information for Participants’ April 3rd Arrival
March 27, 2009
Hello YLP Participants,
It’s hard to believe that you will be in Salem, Oregon in exactly one week! The Youth Leadership Program staff at Willamette University has been very busy making all the necessary last minute preparations for your arrival. Our first priority is to get you here safely! It is very important that you carefully read the information provided below. This contains everything you need to know from the time you board your plane in Zagreb to the time you set foot on the ground in Portland, Oregon.
1. Supervision While Traveling
Students, please remember that you are under the supervision of the three teachers traveling with you: Lejla, Vanja, and Kata. Please be respectful and listen to any instructions they give you during this time. You also have a three hour layover in the Dulles International Airport. You must be extra cautious of the time and make sure you are aware of the flight boarding time that is printed on your boarding pass. The flight will leave without you! Keep your passport and boarding passes in a safe place at all times and frequently check to make sure you have them with you.
2. Immigration and Customs Forms
While flying to the U.S., you will be asked to fill out two forms—one is for immigration (which refers to your entering the country), and one is for customs (which refers to your belongings entering the country. Please fill them out carefully before the airplane lands. You are not required to itemize foreign merchandise for personal use—for example, clothing, toiletries, cameras, portable radios, if they belong to you, and they accompany you into and out of the United States. You must, however, declare the value of any foreign gifts in U.S. dollars. As a nonresident, you are allowed up to $100 worth of merchandise, free of duty and internal revenue tax, as gifts for other people. A flight attendant can help you with the forms if you have questions. Anywhere on these forms that you are asked where you will be staying in the U.S., you should put this address:
Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR 97301
3. Passport Control
Upon arrival at the airport, your first stop will be Passport Control. You will, of course, go to the non-U.S. citizen line. When you approach the Passport Control desk, you should have your passport, your DS-2019 form, and the two forms you filled out on the airplane in your hand. If the officer asks you about the program, you will tell him or her that it is a U.S. Department of State exchange program administered by Willamette University. Should the immigration officer have any concerns about your admission to the country, you may suggest that he or she contact the U.S. Department of State through the Operations Center (202) 647-1512, or the program officer, Carolyn Lantz (571) 217-0765, or Liz Garland’s cell phone (503) 881-0674.
4. Baggage Claim
5. Customs
As soon as you have your luggage, proceed to the customs with your documents ready. He or she may ask you some questions about where you are coming from and what you are bringing in with you. There is no need to be intimidated or afraid, just answer each question honestly. A traveler requiring medicines that contain habit-forming drugs or narcotics (e.g., cough medicine, diuretics, heart drugs, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antidepressants, stimulants, etc.) should:
- Have all drugs, medicines, and similar products properly identified.
- Carry only such quantity as would normally be used by an individual having a health problem requiring the drugs or medicines.
- Obtain either a prescription or written statement from your personal physician that the medicine is for use under a doctor’s direction and that it is necessary for your physical well being while traveling.
- Declare such drugs or medications to the customs officer.
The customs officer may also ask you about any food you are carrying. you may not bring fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese, and any other food that is no processed. Something like a chocolate bar is okay. If they want to check your bag for these things, which is often done randomly, they may send you to the Department of Agriculture area where they will screen your luggage. If you have a food item that you don’t declare, even an apple you brought in your carry-on bag, you may be charged a fine of $100 or more. The customs officer and the Department of Agriculture are also going to want to know if you have been on a farm. This is because they want to kept the U.S. protected from hoof-and-mouth disease, avian flu, and other animal diseases.
6. Boarding the Bus to the Main Terminal
Once you have passed through customs, you are ready to board the bus which will take you to the main terminal where the Willamette University Staff will be waiting to meet you. *However, it is very important that you board the bus and proceed to the main terminal as one group. We are asking that once you’ve passed through customs you DO NOT board the bus until ALL participants have passed through customs. We know this will be a long wait for those of you who are the first to pass through customs, but this is a necessary request and we appreciate your understanding. Just relax and enjoy each others company while waiting.
Please click on the links below to see a brief video of how you will proceed through the Portland International Airport upon arrival. This information is very helpful and will help clarify the information you just read!
We look forward to seeing you on April 3rd!
Would you like to comment?
We send wishes for a safe journey to Salem for all of you. It has been rainy here, but we hope for sunshine the day you arrive. Especially, we send a warm hello to our two students who will be staying with us, Andrea and Ivona.
We look forward to meeting you soon!
Ginny and Al Furtwangler
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