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Why international travel is nonsense and will probably drive you crazy

"Do I need a visa?"

"What do I say to the Border Force officer?"

"Can I bring my work laptop with me?"

If you travel out of Australia for business purposes—to a company meetup or a professional conference—or even on a family vacation with your work laptop, you're facing up to questions about business visitor visas, customs, and border security.

We have answers!

In general

Here's what you need:

  1. Make sure your passport is up to date and is valid for more than the next six months. This is your responsibility, and we're not your mum.
  2. Organise your waiver or visa. We'll cover the cost if it's for work purposes. Claim it as an expense.

Travelling to Australia

If you're coming to Australia for meetings such as a company gathering or conference, you can probably get an ETA.

If you're coming for extended work, there's more pain and we'll work with you to make it less of a hassle.

Do we need more detail here? Coming to Australia shouldn't be as crazy as going to the US, so maybe not. But, if you're confused or unsure, let's add more here.

Travelling to or from the US

We'll focus on travelling to the US since it's both possible and a giant pain in the arse.

Here's what you need:

  1. An invitation letter that substantiates the purpose of your travel.
  2. Your hotel address and contact info.
  3. A security checklist for your laptop and phone. Clearing work data from your devices is required before crossing the border.

Visa

You need a visa (or a waiver) to authorise travel to the US.

Visa Waiver Program

If your country participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), then you can apply for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) within 3 days of travel. The ESTA is valid for 2 years.

B-1 Business Visitor Visa

If your country does not participate in the Visa Waiver Program or you are not eligible for an ESTA, you'll need to apply for a B-1 business visitor visa… the long way.

We'll work with you through this process. Start early, as soon as we have dates for a meetup or conference. Visa appointments and processing can take weeks to months. Ping Steve as soon as you know that you'll need a visa.

Trusted Traveler Programs

Border screening is slow and stressful every time. "Trusted traveler" programs expedite and bypass some screening. Citizens of some countries are eligible for Global Entry and Canadians are eligible for NEXUS. These programs are completely optional but may make life a little easier, at the cost of onerous biometric scans like fingerprinting (for Global Entry and NEXUS) and iris scanning (for NEXUS).

An ESTA is still required for travel; these programs just speed up entry.

Invitation Letter

To substantiate the purpose of your travel, we provide an invitation letter that states that you're travelling to the US for a business meeting and not to do work.

"Doing business", e.g. attending a business meeting or conference—is allowed under the business visitor visa (and visa waiver), but "doing work" is not. That'd require a temporary work visa.

You'll need a new letter each time you travel. Contact Steve to get one drafted.

Company Security at the Border

When you enter the US, you may be asked to unlock your phone or laptop for search, possibly exposing sensitive company data like source code, passwords, and customer account data. Yikes! We need to take some precautionary measures to safeguard our data.

What's a work device?

Anything you have company data on:

  • your laptop where you work with design and code;
  • your tablet where you read acidlabs email;
  • your phone where you use work apps; etc.

TL;DR: Don't Travel With Work Data

If you don't need your work laptop (or tablet/phone), don't bring it with you! Wipe company data from your phone before crossing the US border. Restore it afterwards.

Checklist: Before You Travel

  • Let us know! Share your travel plans and when you expect to arrive in your destination.
  • If needed, request an invitation letter from Steve. He'll draft a letter specific to your visit.
  • Update your ESTA or any other waiver online with your travel info and the hotel address.
  • Ensure you have your passport, ESTA or other waiver, invitation letter, and travel details all in order.
  • Put Steve and our attorney on speed dial.
    • If you run into general travel issues or have any questions, contact Steve
    • If you're detained or encounter some other serious customs headache, contact our attorney directly: Pierre Johannessen (get the phone number from Steve). Many border authorities are not required to allow you to contact an attorney, but Pierre is your first call if possible.
  • 1Passwords
    • Check that your personal 1Password vault doesn't have any work logins. If it does, move them to the acidlabs team vault instead.
  • Email apps
    • If you use an email app rather than Gmail in your browser, remove the @acidlabs.org account.
    • Turn on Travel Mode. Go to https://acidlabs.1password.com/profile and click Enable Travel Mode.
    • Open 1Password on each device you're traveling with (laptop, phone, iPad, etc) so it can wipe its data while it's in Travel Mode.
  • Clear browser cookies, logging you out of all work sites.
    • Laptops: Clear cookies in Chrome, Safari, etc.
    • iOS: Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data
    • Android: Chrome > Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data. Check Cookies and site data; uncheck all the other items. Clear data.
  • Sensitive documents
    • Make an encrypted backup and remove from your laptop.
  • Dropbox or Google Drive
    • Log out and disconnect.
  • Touch ID and Face ID (optional)
    • Unlocking your device can be compelled at US border crossings, but other countries may be less intrusive so it may make sense to make your device a little harder to unlock.
    • Disable Touch ID and Face ID on your phone, tablet, and laptop. Require a passcode/password to unlock.

Checklist: At Customs

  • Have your passport, ESTA or other waiver, invitation letter, and hotel address ready.
  • Ensure your devices are charged up and turned on. Customs may baulk at a bricked phone or laptop.
  • Common questions:
    • The purpose of your visit? I'm here for a business meeting in <place>.
    • Here to do work? Nope! Here on business with <client>/for the <blah> conference in <place>/meeting with <client>.
    • Where are you staying? I'm staying at <hotel name, address, and phone>.

Be straightforward and truthful. You're legit! No need to be cagey or misleading.

Checklist: When You Arrive

  • Let us know! Mention in HQ Campfire when you're through Customs and have arrived at your destination.
  • Touch ID and Face ID: Reenable on your phone, tablet, and laptop.
  • Dropbox or Google Drive: Log in and reconnect, but only if needed during travel.
  • Basecamp app: Reinstall on your phone, tablet, and laptop.
  • 1Password: Turn off Travel Mode. Go to https://basecamp.1password.com/profile and click Disable Travel Mode. Next time you open 1Password, you'll have full access again.
  • Email apps: Add your @acidlabs.org account again.
  • Sensitive documents: Download and restore, but only if needed during travel.

Checklist: When You Return

  • Same as when you travel! Repeat the checklists for any border crossing, whether into or out of the US or Australia.

Any Questions?

Hitting a snag or have any questions? Ping Steve for help.

You're welcome to edit and improve this document yourself, too. Please do!