Reducing Delays due to Regulatory Practices
Prospective employees who are citizens or residents of embargoed, sanctioned, or prohibited countries must be discussed with the export control office as soon as possible. Such consultation may expedite handling of possible licensing requirements, and can reduce possible delays or other challenges in work participation by the prospective employee (e.g., entity list affiliations) related to the Export Control Reform Act or the like.
Safeguarding Academia (PDF) from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Export Control Attestation
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services requires employers to complete Part 6 of Form I-129, the export control attestation, for H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, or 0-1A non-immigrant worker visa applicants with respect to the technology or technical data that will be released or otherwise provided access to the prospective employee.
In order to complete this attestation the applicant must assess what resources such as technology or technical data that the foreign person will need access to as a part of their work at the university.
If the items that the foreign person will be exposed to are (1) not military, space, or intelligence in nature, (2) freely available for purchase by the general public, and (3) contain no information related to the development, production or use of those products that is not included in all sales to the general public then it is likely that no license will be required. However, if an item is military in nature, or specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted, or modified for military application a license will always be required, including if the foreign person will be exposed to technical data related to the item. If an item is not primarily military in nature but the foreign person will have access to related information or data that is not available to the general public then a classification will have to be made on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to determine whether a license may be required. Any entity list affiliations may pose other unique challenges.
List of High Risk Entities (PDF) from Research at the University of Central Florida.
Research organizations and institutions that pose the highest risk to Canada’s national security from the government of Canada.
Universities in China supervised by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) (PDF) from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
I-129 Checklist
To determine whether or not a prospective employee under one of the above-mentioned visas will be exposed to technology or technical data such that a license may be required it may be helpful to use this checklist.
1. Is the prospective employee a citizen or resident of an embargoed, sanctioned, or prohibited country? (The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 identifies China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran as countries of concern for foreign interactions).
2. Will the prospective employee have access to encryption technology (beyond commercially available software)?
3. Will the potential employee be involved in a project that: (a) has a Technology Control Plan (TCP) in place; (b) requires approval, or prohibits use, of foreign citizens on the project; (c) has a military purpose or military funding; (d) involves spacecraft, satellites, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles or related items or technology; (e) requires sponsor approval prior to publication or discussion at an open conference; or (f) requires access to proprietary information protected under a non-disclosure agreement?
If you answered “yes” to any of these three questions, contact the export control office and provide all available information related to the project and the prospective employee.