A tourist visa is enough to do Hacker School. You don't earn any money, you don't pay for the school and it's not a real school anyway.
The only problem is explaining the program to the Immigration Officer. Mentioning "Hacker" or "School" is not recommended. I used the phrase "programming workshops" :)
I'm getting an F1 visa for grad school and the earliest I can enter the US is August. I'll have to get a visitor visa, go to hackerschool, fly back, get my F1 and re-enter the US. That's just too much of a hassle.
I guess I'll just try next time.. and I hope Norvig stays for a few more batches.
The only problem is explaining the program to the Immigration Officer. Mentioning "Hacker" or "School" is not recommended. I used the phrase "programming workshops" :)