Research

Foreign Visitor Approval Process

1.17 Foreign Visitor Policy Statement

Hosting foreign visitors on campus is valuable and important to the University’s mission. In order to ensure compliance with relevant federal regulations and University policies, all invitations for foreign visitors to campus require prior approval by the Vice President for Research.  

All foreign visitors must sign a visitor agreement that outlines the details of their visit prior to being allowed on campus.

Definitions:

A foreign visitor is any individual who falls under either of the following criteria:

  1. Someone who is not a United States citizen, permanent resident (aka “Green Card” holder), or protected individual (refugee or political asylee)
  2. Someone who is a United States citizen or permanent resident who either represents, or is an employee of, a foreign interest.

 A foreign interest is any:

  1. foreign government, agency of a foreign government (including government-run institutions/universities), or a representative of a foreign government;
  2. form of business enterprise or legal entity organized, chartered, or incorporated under the laws of any country other than the US or its possessions and trust territories; or
  3. person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.

Foreign Visitor Procedure

The University host will complete:

  • the Foreign Visitor Request Form (in order to complete this form you will need the visitor's personal information, passport number, visit dates, and have an electronic copy of their CV).
  • the draft invitation and agreement
    • Keep in document word format, do not convert to a PDF document.
    • Do not delete any verbiage out of the draft invitation and agreement.
    • Do not have the visitor sign the draft invitation and agreement, the VPR Office will send it to them to sign.
  • Export Control Compliance Training
    • Export Control Compliance Training is required by the Michigan Tech host prior to approving the foreign visitor's visit.
    • The visitor is also required to complete the Export Control Compliance Training after their arrival.
    • Contact researchsecurity-l@mtu.edu if there are any questions related to the CITI training.

Email visitorapproval-l@mtu.edu that you will be hosting a foreign visitor and attach the draft invitation (in word format).  The responsible office will review the request and either approve or deny the request. On a case-by-case basis, where a visitor would be involved with academic programs, the responsible office may delegate visitor approval to the Office of the Provost and Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Once a visitor has been approved by the responsible office, the official invitation will be sent along with a description of the visit (including duration, allowed activities, and any safety or training requirements) and a general agreement (covering aspects that apply to all foreign visitors, such as liability, intellectual property, and other concerns). Official invitations are to be sent by either the vice president of the responsible office or the Michigan Tech general counsel’s office on behalf of the University. Visitors must agree to the terms outlined in the letter and agreement prior to arriving on campus. 

Note: When departments host a J-Scholar they complete a form through IPS to request the DS-2019. Therefore, IPS has added a requirement to the DS-2019 request form that the signed approval letter be uploaded.

Exceptions:

If a foreign visitor is coming to campus for a conference, seminar, short-term collaboration (two weeks or less), or a job interview AND is NOT going to have access to any controlled or proprietary information (or controlled location/lab), it is not necessary to request approval and have the visitor sign a visitor agreement.

The request for approval and visitor agreement also does not need to be completed for hired Michigan Tech faculty/staff (if the visitor is being placed on payroll because they are supported under a grant, receiving a stipend, etc. then they are considered an employee) or enrolled foreign students. 

Related Policies and Procedures

1.17 Foreign Visitor Policy Statement

Visitor ID, E-mail & Access Request Form

J-1 Exchange Visitor Request

Honoraria:

Nonmonetary Agreements: