Visiting Scientists and Scholars

The Campus Foreign Visitor Protocol subcommittee of the Science and Security Working Group is currently assessing Brown's processes related to visiting scientists and scholars. This page will be updated when that subcommittee completes its work. 

Foreign Scholar and Visitor Screening

Brown University screens certain foreign scholars and visitors to ensure compliance with federal regulations, and to provide guidance and education to hosting departments and visitors on applicable export control and sanctions regulations. Specifically, screening is required for the following groups:

  • Any visitor or visiting scholar from a comprehensively embargoed country or territory[1];

  • Any scholar sponsored by Brown University for an H-1B or O-1 visa;

  • Any visitor or visiting scholar coming to Brown University on a J visa.

Why are these groups screened?

The screening process is primarily used to determine if a foreign scholar or visitor is a restricted national or is affiliated with a restricted country, group, entity, or organization. If the former, Brown cannot host/sponsor the individual; if the latter, the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) will provide specific guidance to the hosting department on regulatory restrictions related to hosting and interacting with the foreign visitor who is affiliated with a restricted party. ORI will also provide guidance to the visitor to ensure that they do not accidentally violate any U.S. export control or sanctions laws while being here.

The screening process is also used to determine if government licenses and authorizations are needed prior to sharing technology and technical data with the visiting scholar. In the case of H-1B and O-1 visa applicants, this process is also used to make a deemed export attestation, which is a federal requirement.

How are the groups screened?

The screening is conducted by the Export Control Compliance Group within the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) at Brown, using a web-based screening tool called “Visual Compliance.” 

Move information about Brown's screening procedures can be found here.