Where are you traveling?
All international travel by University employees or students could invoke export control restrictions and may be subject to export control regulations, depending on the travel destination, the purpose of the travel, and what is being taken abroad.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains a list of current Country Sanctions programs. Travel to a comprehensively sanctioned country (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine [Donetsk, Crimea, and Luhansk]) or an embargoed country requires a license from OFAC. The processing time for license requests can take several weeks to several months, so Export Control should be contacted as far in advance of travel as possible.
Other countries may also be subject to sanctions or enhanced controls that affect travel. These countries include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the People’s Republic of China (+ Hong Kong and Macau).
What are you bringing?
Do not take any export-controlled equipment, materials, software, or technology, or confidential, unpublished, sensitive, or proprietary information or data with you, or have any such information downloaded on your hard drive. Export-controlled information includes the following:
- Devices or equipment received with restrictions on export to or on access by foreign nationals.
- Data or information received under an obligation of confidentiality or is otherwise classified.
- Devices, systems or software that were specifically designed or modified for military or space applications.
- Data or analyses that result from a project with contractual constraints on sharing or publishing research results.
- Computer software received with restrictions on export to or on access by foreign nationals.
Contact the Export Control Office if you are unsure whether any item you intend to travel with might be subject to these restrictions.
Who are you collaborating with?
U.S. agencies maintain lists of individuals and entities classified as “Restricted Parties.” Many benign‐sounding foreign institutes appear on these lists, and individuals or organizations from anywhere in the world (not just sanctioned or embargoed countries) can also be listed.
As collaborating with a Restricted Party is prohibited unless proper authorization is obtained, Restricted Party Screenings must be performed on all individuals you plan to interact with once you reach your travel destination.
Traveling for a conference or research?
Most travel for conferences and research will fall under exclusions to export control regulations, such as the publicly‐available and public domain exclusions. If presenting at a conference, present information that is publishable and generally‐available to the public, not proprietary. Travel for conferences, research, and research‐related activities (such as exploring future collaborations or touring an institution or research facility) are subject to export control review, however, and Restricted Party Screenings must still be performed.