Visitors can apply for visas at the Lao Embassy in Washington, DC. Although, in theory, tourist visas are temporarily "suspended" except for group travel, in practice individual visa applications have generally been approved on a case by case basis. Business travel is encouraged. US citizens of Lao origin have been able of late to obtain visas easily to visit family and have not experienced any particular difficulty in Laos. Several US journalists have been able to secure visas within the past year as well. Sponsorship by an individual or organization in Laos can ease the application process.

Vientiane is served by four international airlines: Thai Airways, Air Vietnam, Lao Aviation, and Aeroflot (USSR). Flights connect Vientiane to Bangkok, Rangoon, Hanoi, and (via several stops) Moscow. Bangkok is the nearest city served by a US carrier.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, May 1986.