CITY
Boston
STATE
Massachusetts
COUNTRY
United States of America
CONTINENT
North America
LANGUAGE
English
CURRENCY
US Dollars
BEST TIME TO VISIT
May to October
NEAREST RAILWAY STATION
South Station in downtown Boston
NEAREST AIRPORT
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
EMERGENCY HELPLINE NUMBER
911
INTERNET ACCESS
Travelers will have few problems staying connected in tech-savvy USA. Most hotels, guesthouses, hostels and motels have wi-fi (usually free, though luxury hotels are more likely to charge for access); ask when reserving.
Across the US, most cafes offer free wi-fi. Some cities have wi-fi-connected parks and plazas. If you’re not packing a laptop or other web-accessible device, try the public library – most have public terminals (though they have time limits) in addition to wi-fi. Occasionally out-of-state residents are charged a small fee.
If you’re not from the US, remember that you will need an AC adapter for your laptop, plus a plug adapter for US sockets; both are available at larger electronics shops, such as Best Buy.
VISA
Visitors from Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and many EU countries don’t need visas for stays of less than 90 days. Citizens of other nations should check http://travel.state.gov.
Entering the USA
Everyone arriving in the US needs to fill out the US customs declaration. US and Canadian citizens, along with eligible foreign nationals participating in the Visa Waiver Program, can complete this procedure electronically at an APC (Automated Passport Control) kiosk upon disembarking. All others must fill out a paper customs declaration, which is usually handed out on the plane. Have it completed before you approach the immigration desk. For the question, ‘US Street Address,’ give the address where you will spend the first night (a hotel address is fine).
No matter what your visa says, US immigration officers have an absolute authority to refuse admission to the country, or to impose conditions on admission. They may ask about your plans and whether you have sufficient funds; it’s a good idea to list an itinerary, produce an onward or round-trip ticket and have at least one major credit card.
The Department of Homeland Security’s registration program, called Office of Biometric Identity Management, includes every port of entry and nearly every foreign visitor to the USA. For most visitors (excluding, for now, most Canadian and some Mexican citizens), registration consists of having a digital photo and electronic (inkless) fingerprints taken; the process takes less than a minute.
Grounds for Exclusion & Deportation
If on your visa application form you admit to being a subversive, smuggler, prostitute, drug addict, terrorist or an ex-Nazi, you may be excluded. You can also be refused a visa or entry to the USA if you have a ‘communicable disease of public health significance’ or a criminal record, or if you’ve ever made a false statement in connection with a US visa application. However, if any of these last three apply, you’re still able to request an exemption; many people are granted them and then given visas.
Communicable diseases include tuberculosis, the Ebola virus, gonorrhea, syphilis, infectious leprosy and any disease deemed subject to quarantine by Presidential Executive Order. US immigration doesn’t test people for disease, but officials at the point of entry may question anyone about his or her health. They can exclude anyone whom they believe has a communicable disease, perhaps because they are carrying medical documents, prescriptions or medicine. Being an IV drug user is also grounds for exclusion. Visitors may be deported if US immigration finds out they have HIV but did not declare it. Being HIV-positive is no longer grounds for deportation, but failing to provide accurate information on the visa application is.
The US immigration department has a very broad definition of a criminal record. If you’ve ever been arrested or charged with an offense, that’s a criminal record, even if you were acquitted or discharged without conviction. Don’t attempt to enter through the VWP if you have a criminal record of any kind; assume US authorities will find out about it.
Often United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will grant an exemption (a ‘waiver of ineligibility’) to a person who would normally be subject to exclusion, but this requires referral to a regional immigration office and can take some time (allow at least two months). If you’re tempted to conceal something, remember that US immigration is strictest of all about false statements. It will often view favorably an applicant who admits to an old criminal charge or a communicable disease, but it is extremely harsh on anyone who has ever attempted to mislead it, even on minor points. After you’re admitted to the USA, any evidence of a false statement to US immigration is grounds for deportation.
Prospective visitors to whom grounds of exclusion may apply should consider their options before applying for a visa.
More Information
Be warned that all visa information is highly subject to change. US entry requirements keep evolving as national security regulations change. All travelers should double-check current visa and passport regulations before coming to the USA.
The US State Department (www.travel.state.gov) maintains the most comprehensive visa information, providing downloadable forms, lists of US consulates abroad and even visa wait times calculated by country.
Short-term Departures & Re-entry
It’s temptingly easy to make trips across the border to Canada or Mexico, but on return to the USA, non-Americans will be subject to the full immigration procedure.
Always take your passport when you cross the border.
If your immigration card still has plenty of time on it, you will probably be able to re-enter using the same one, but if it has nearly expired, you will have to apply for a new card, and border control may want to see your onward air ticket, sufficient funds and so on.
Traditionally, a quick trip across the border has been a way to extend your stay in the USA without applying for an extension at a USCIS office. Don’t assume this still works. First, make sure you hand in your old immigration card to the immigration authorities when you leave the USA, and when you return make sure you have all the necessary application documentation from when you first entered the country. US immigration will be very suspicious of anyone who leaves for a few days and returns immediately hoping for a new six-month stay; expect to be questioned closely.
Citizens of most Western countries will not need a visa to visit Canada, so it’s really not a problem at all to cross to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, detour up to Québec, or pass through on the way to Alaska.
Travelers entering the USA by bus from Canada may be closely scrutinized. A round-trip ticket that takes you back to Canada will most likely make US immigration feel less suspicious.
Mexico has a visa-free zone along most of its border with the USA, including the Baja Peninsula and border towns such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. As of 2017, residents of the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, and Schengen countries (Europe) no longer need a tourist visa anywhere in Mexico. Others may need a Mexican visa or tourist card to travel beyond the border zone.
Visa Applications
Apart from most Canadian citizens and those entering under the Visa Waiver Program, all foreign visitors will need to obtain a visa from a US consulate or embassy abroad. Most applicants must schedule a personal interview, to which you must bring all your documentation and proof of fee payment. Wait times for interviews vary, but afterward, barring problems, visa issuance takes from a few days to a few weeks.
Your passport must be valid for the entirety of your intended stay in the USA, and sometimes six months longer, depending on your country of citizenship. You’ll need a recent photo (2in by 2in) and you must pay a nonrefundable $160 processing fee, plus in a few cases an additional visa-issuance reciprocity fee. You’ll also need to fill out the online DS-160 non-immigrant visa electronic application.
Visa applicants are required to show documents of financial stability (or evidence that a US resident will provide financial support), a round-trip or onward ticket and ‘binding obligations’ that will ensure their return home, such as family ties, a home or a job. Because of these requirements, those planning to travel through other countries before arriving in the USA are generally better off applying for a US visa while they’re still in their home country, rather than while on the road.
The most common visa is a non-immigrant visitor’s visa: type B-1 for business purposes, B-2 for tourism or visiting friends and relatives. A visitor’s visa is good for multiple entries over one or five years, and specifically prohibits the visitor from taking paid employment in the USA. The validity period depends on what country you are from. The actual length of time you’ll be allowed to stay in the USA is determined by US immigration at the port of entry.
If you’re coming to the USA to work or study, you will need a different type of visa, and the company or institution to which you are going should make the arrangements.
Other categories of non immigrant visas include an F-1 visa for students attending a course at a recognized institution; an H-1, H-2 or H-3 visa for temporary employment; and a J-1 visa for exchange visitors in approved programs.
HOTEL
The Freedom Trail leads past the city’s main historical attractions and begins on Boston Common, in the heart of downtown. Several highly-rated hotels lie right on the Freedom Trail or within a short distance of its route, making them good places to stay for sightseeing. A number of other fine hotels overlook Boston’s waterfront, not far off the route of the Freedom Trail as it heads toward Old North Church and Paul Revere’s House in the North End. The waterfront extends southeast into a relatively new lodging and dining area called the Seaport, which includes both the World Trade Center and the Boston Convention Center.
Several more of Boston’s foremost sights are in Back Bay, which lies in the other direction from the Common, near Copley Square and beyond, along Huntington Avenue. This is where you’ll find the city’s three foremost cultural attractions: Symphony Hall and two major art museums. When deciding where to stay in Boston, consider looking across the river in Cambridge, around Harvard Square, where another cluster of attractions lie. Connected by a direct subway line to Park Street (at the Boston Common), the Harvard Square area is a good place to stay, with shopping, restaurants, and a wealth of cultural activities, but handy to downtown Boston.
LUXURY
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Mandarin Oriental, Boston
Four Seasons Hotel Boston
The Langham, Boston
MID-RANGE
Boston Marriott Long Wharf
Seaport Boston Hotel
Residence Inn Boston Downtown Seaport
BUDGET
Chandler Inn
The Midtown Hotel
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Boston Garden
Mary Prentiss Inn
Porter Square Hotel
COST OF LIVING
Very historic and old compared to most of the United States, the city of Boston is a classic and necessary stop for anyone trying to understand America. The city itself is far smaller than New York City, yet it’s similarly made up of distinct neighborhoods that can change dramatically as you cross through them. Boston is one of the United States’ more expensive cities, especially in the tourist center. But it’s also home to a huge number of colleges and universities so there are plenty of bars and restaurants that cater to a lower budget student crowd. Hotels that are within walking distance of the main central attractions will cost a small fortune, but those on the edges can feel like reasonable bargains. Hostels are among the more expensive in the US, so budget hotels are often a better deal.
Different times of the year equal different hotel rates and crowd sizes. April through November serve as the busiest months of the year with a nearly never ending string of visitors, both from other parts of the state and the entire nation. If planning to visit during this time of year, make sure to reserve hotel stays as early as possible and be prepared for higher nightly rates.
If visiting during December, you’ll find great weekend bargains as most people are vacationing down south. Generally, the slow season runs from January into March when most hotels offer discounted rates. As with most cities, if you just randomly walk into an obvious tourist-oriented restaurant you’ll pay top dollar, so those on a budget should ask around and do some research. The ethnic neighborhoods can offer very good deals on food.
