Employment Based Immigration Handbook
II. ONGOING OBLIGATIONS OF SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
II.3 EXPORT CONTROL
Export control laws are federal regulations that govern how certain information, technologies
and commodities can be transmitted overseas or to a foreign national on U.S. soil.
The scope of the regulations is broad: They can cover exports in virtually all fields
of science, engineering and technology and apply to research activities regardless
of the source of funding.
The hiring College, Department, and/or Principal Investigator is responsible and must certify that any H-1B Specialty Worker does not need an Export Control License and will not be exposed to specific technology, data, or information that is subject to export control regulations. If the sponsoring stakeholder’s employee will be exposed, a plan must be made with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and this must happen prior to the employee receiving work authorization.
Please note that the failure to comply with export control laws can result in serious personal consequences for both the responsible stakeholders (Department Chair, Supervisor, and/or Principal Investigator) and the employee. These individuals are making serious legal attestations, and failure to comply with them may include not only substantial civil penalties but also imprisonment.
If the hiring College or Department is unsure about whether or not their employee will be exposed to controlled technologies or if licenses need to be in place, then the sponsoring College or Department must verify that a license is unneeded. Department and College can download the fillable Export License Review Form from CISP website and follow the directions on the first page to complete the form: H-1B FORMS FOR DEPARTMENTS AND EMPLOYEES.
Go to the next section: III.1 Overview of Important Documents for Foreign National Employees