General Information

Baggage

We will reimburse you for any checked bag fees so please be sure to keep receipts for any fees you incur from checking your baggage. Receipts should be submitted to gci-trip@google.com within a week of your return flight home and funds will be added to your Payoneer account.

Bringing Additional Family Members on the Trip

Because over 90% of you are traveling from other continents we realize your family may wish to make the trip to the USA a trip for your whole family. You can certainly do this but please remember the following points:

  1. Google will only pay for you and 1 parent/legal guardian to fly to and from the US.
  2. You must let us know that you are bringing additional people so that we can notify the hotel and we can adjust our catering to accommodate extra people for the Monday opening reception and closing day Thursday.
  3. You will be responsible for any additional person charges for the hotel. Google will cover 2 people, the Marriott charges $25 per additional person per night plus taxes (up to 4 people total) in a room. There will be 2 double beds in each room.
  4. Only 1 parent/legal guardian can accompany you during the Grand Prize activities on Tuesday and Wednesday
    • All family members can accompany you to the opening reception at Google San Francisco on Monday and Thursday in the San Francisco office.
  5. We can give your additional family members a visa invitation and letter, just be sure to fill out the visa letter request form for each of the people coming on the trip.
  6. If your parent/legal guardian is unable to come on the trip, you may bring an older sibling/family member (over 18 years old) with you instead as your chaperone. If you choose to do this there is additional paperwork that your parent and family member will need to fill out before we start booking flights. Please contact us directly if you wish to do this.

Passports

If you do not live in the USA you will need a passport to come on the trip. If you and/or your parent/guardian do not have a passport be sure to start your paperwork immediately - we cannot book your flights without passport information. Many countries require that your passport expiration date is at least 3-6 months after you plan to arrive in the country. Be sure to check on this with your Embassy if your passport expires in 2019. It is your responsibility to check on the requirements regarding your passports. Google will not pay for your passport fees.

School Excusal letter

We understand some of you may need a excusal letter to give to your school so you can miss class, exams, etc. Please fill in this form or email us at gci-trip@google.com if you need such a letter and we will send it to you within a few days.

Transportation to and from the Airport

Google will provide you with $400 to cover travel costs to and from your home airport and the SFO airport as well as a couple of breakfasts during the trip. Funds will be deposited into your parent/guardians Payoneer account. The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about a 30-40 minute drive from downtown San Francisco during non rush hour times or an hour during rush hour. Please plan your return trip to the airport accordingly. See the Transportation Options page for more information.

Visa letters

If you need a visa to travel to the United States, you will need an invitation and letter from Google to bring to your appointment at your local Embassy or visa office. Please complete this visa letter and invitation request form as soon as possible so that we can create the visa letter for you (and/or your accompanying parent or chaperone). Complete the form for each person that needs the visa letter and visa invitation (you, your parent, etc.). Letters and invitation letters will be sent to you via email within a week. Generally visa fees are $160 USD per person. We will reimburse only the winner and their parent/chaperone for the fees. Each country has a different set of rules regarding visas, it is your responsibility to complete the visa process and to obtain the visa on your own. We cannot answer visa questions for you, neither can our travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit (CWT). You can read the ESTA rules for the list of countries that are eligible for a quicker, easier visa process. We will reimburse your visa or ESTA fees for you and your designated guardian. Just send us the receipts via email with “[your name] visa receipts” as the subject line to gci-trip@google.com