Getting to the U.S.

Most U.S. and several international airlines offer service from Europe to Washington Dulles International Airport. You can get here from Australia and New Zealand via Air New Zealand (www.airnz.com), Qantas (www.qantas.com), American (www.americanair.com), and United (www.united.com), with a change of planes in Los Angeles. Call the airlines' local offices or contact your travel agent, and ask about promotional fares and discounts.

From Great Britain, Virgin Atlantic Airways (tel. 800/662-8621 in the U.S. or 01/293-74-77-47 in the U.K.; www.virgin-atlantic.com) has attractive deals on its flights from London and Manchester to Washington Dulles.

Canadians should check with Air Canada (tel. 800/776-3000; www.aircanada.ca), which flies to both Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National.

Airfares -- Whichever airline you choose, always ask about advance purchase excursion (APEX) fares, which represent substantial savings over regular fares. Most require tickets to be bought 21 days prior to departure.

On the Internet, the European Travel Network (ETN) operates a site at www.discount-tickets.com, which offers cut-rate prices on international airfares to the United States, accommodations, car rentals, and tours. Another site to click on for discount fares worldwide is OnlineBookingEngines.com.

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- Visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. Getting through immigration control can take as long as 2 hours on some days, especially on summer weekends, so be sure to carry something to read.

Many international visitors traveling on visas to the United States will be photographed and fingerprinted at Customs in a program operated by the Department of Homeland Security called US-VISIT. Non-U.S. citizens arriving at airports and on cruise ships must undergo an instant background check as part of the government's ongoing efforts to deter terrorism by verifying the identity of incoming and outgoing visitors. Exempt from the extra scrutiny are visitors entering by land or those from 28 countries (mostly in Europe) that don't require a visa for short-term visits. For more information, go to the Homeland Security website at www.dhs.gov/dhspublic.

People traveling by air from Canada, Bermuda, and certain countries in the Caribbean can sometimes clear Customs and Immigration at the point of departure, which is much quicker.

A Paper Trail -- Make copies of all your travel papers (passports, visas, plane tickets) and leave them with someone at home should you need a document faxed in an emergency.