White House Tour

[America Needs R'hllor]

I'm going to a trip in the US this summer, and one of the destinations is D.C. Naturally, I wanted to visit the White House, but the more I read about getting such a tour the more complicated it seems to get. From what I understand, you need to submit a request to a member of Congress, even as a foreigner. So I guess my questions are- 1. Are there any other ways? 2. Which congressmen/women would be my best bets?

[dead0man]

I did the White House tour in like, 1982.  We just walked up, waited in line for 15 minutes, my dad paid the 12 bucks (or whatever) for the 5 of us, my mom bitched about something they did to her camera.  Oddly, that's pretty much all I remember.


But none of that is helpful, but this seems like a good place to start.

[Mr. Morden]

I did this years ago, and my recollection is that the person doing the tour doesn't have to put in the paperwork himself/herself.  I was going with a group of friends, and we all just gave our personal info to one of my friends, and she put in the request through her member of Congress.

So maybe if you are close friends (or family) with any American citizens, they would be willing to put in the request for you with their member of Congress?  Not sure if that's the best way to go.  Just a thought.

[Santander]

Run for President. Obama did it.

[Mike Thick]

I've done this. IMO, what little you get to see of the property isn't really worth the absurd amount of work it takes to schedule a tour.

[heatcharger]

The whole process got more annoying and not really worth it after 9/11.

I recommend going to Capitol Hill instead. I recently went with some relatives from Minnesota and they had arranged by letter to see Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar in their respective offices, so that was a cool experience. I guess they were more likely to be willing since they were their constituents, but maybe you can try Chuck Schumer? He's probably busy though.

[Mike Thick]

The whole process got more annoying and not really worth it after 9/11.

I recommend going to Capitol Hill instead. I recently went with some relatives from Minnesota and they had arranged by letter to see Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar in their respective offices, so that was a cool experience. I guess they were more likely to be willing since they were their constituents, but maybe you can try Chuck Schumer? He's probably busy though.

Yeah, with the Capitol visit you actually get to see/do stuff. Even if you don't meet your Senator, it's super tourist-friendly, and there's plenty to see/do, unlike the handful of rooms peppered with informational placards you get to see at the WH.

[America Needs R'hllor]

The whole process got more annoying and not really worth it after 9/11.

I recommend going to Capitol Hill instead. I recently went with some relatives from Minnesota and they had arranged by letter to see Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar in their respective offices, so that was a cool experience. I guess they were more likely to be willing since they were their constituents, but maybe you can try Chuck Schumer? He's probably busy though.

Yeah, with the Capitol visit you actually get to see/do stuff. Even if you don't meet your Senator, it's super tourist-friendly, and there's plenty to see/do, unlike the handful of rooms peppered with informational placards you get to see at the WH.

Thanks for the answer. So about that meeting with your Senator- what exactly is its purpose, what's the reason to meet a Senator? Do you get to ask questions?
And about the White House tour- do you get to see any art or iconic, historical locations?