Screening Foreign Researchers

VISUAL FLOWCHART
(FACULTY, STAFF & POSTDOCS)   VISUAL FLOWCHART
(GRAS)   VISUAL FLOWCHART
(INTERNAL HIRES)

A.  Impacted Parties

Under Florida law, FAU is required to meet certain screening requirements before offering a Research or Research-Related Support Position to: 

  • Foreign Nationals seeking employment in Research or Research-Related Support Positions, including graduate and undergraduate students seeking such positions; and 
  • U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents seeking employment in Research or Research Related Support Positions if they have an affiliation with an institution or program in a Foreign Country of Concern or have had one year or more of employment or training in a Foreign Country of Concern.

These categories will include current FAU employees, students or visiting scholars moving into new research or research-related support positions if a previous screening has not yet been undertaken.

B.  Definitions

Affiliation: A professional, training, research, financial or educational relationship, including without limitation the receipt of funding or other professional support or services.

Foreign Country of Concern:  The People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, or the Syrian Arab Republic including any agency of or any other entity under significant control of such countries.

Foreign National: A person who is neither a U.S. Citizen nor a lawful U.S. Permanent Resident.

Permanent Resident: A person who is not a U.S. Citizen who is lawfully living in the U.S. permanently under legally recognized and lawfully recorded permanent residence as an immigrant.

Research: A systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied.  Research includes all research activities, both basic and applied, and all development activities, including the training of individuals in research techniques.

Research or Research-Related Support Position: These positions include:

  • Faculty (including Adjunct Faculty),
  • Graduate Research Assistants and Graduate Research Associates,
  • Individuals compensated by the research grant or contract funds,
  • Interns or OPS positions engaged in Research,
  • Paid Visiting Researchers, including Visiting Assistant Professors and Visiting Research Associates,
  • Post-Doctoral Scholars, and
  • Positions where the Individual is engaged in Research. 

FAU has compiled a non-exclusive list of job codes. This list can be accessed from the Department of Human Resources. Other jobs not on the list may be included if the position qualifies as a research or research-related support position. Administrative positions that support the research effort (i.e., proposal teams, contract teams, accountants, compliance teams, HR, etc.) and students completing lab work or research as part of a class are not considered Research-Related Support Positions.

C.  Request for Information 

Once a final candidate has been selected by the hiring authority, and based on the candidates responses to the application questions regarding their status per Section A above, during the hiring review proces, the candidate will be routed through the FAU Research Integrity Office for Foreign Influence (RIOFI) to determine if the selected candidate meets the screening criteria.  If the candidate meets the criteria noted in Section A above, the RIOFI will request that the candidate provide the following information through a secure portal:

1. Publications, Funding & Professional Activities:  

  • A list of all published material for which the individual: (i) received credit as an author, (ii) received credit as a researcher, or (iii) contributed significant research, writing, or editorial support;
  • A list of the individual’s current and pending research funding from any source, including: (i) funder, (ii) amount, (iii) role on the project, and (iv) a brief description of the research; and
  • A full disclosure of non-university professional activities, including any consulting work and/or affiliations with an institution or program in a Foreign Country of Concern.

2. Passport and Non-Immigrant Visa Application (Foreign Nationals Only):

  • If an individual has a passport and a copy of their submitted Nonimmigrant Visa Application, the individual is also required to provide a copy of the biographical pages(s) of the passport and a copy of the Application.
  • If the individual does not have a passport or a copy of their Application or has not yet submitted one, they are asked to indicate this and the individual will be required to provide these as part of the visa review process.

Contemporaneously with the request for information from the RIOFI, Human Resources will commence the candidate's background check through FAU's third party vendor.  This background cehck will consist of additional verifications required under Florida law for the impacted parties noted in Section A above.  

All information must be received by the candidate and cleared by the RIOFI pursuant to Section D below before a formal offer of employment may be extended to faulty or staff.  Graduate research assistants may be presented with a letter of proposed financial support conditioned on clearance pursuant to Section D below, but may not be granted access to research data or activies or other sensitive data until the screening process has been completed and clearance has been given by the RIOFI.

D.  The Screening Process

FAU is required to take reasonable steps to:

  1. Contact and verify every institution of higher education attended;
  2. Contact and verify all previous employment for the most recent ten years;
  3. Review publicly available information to identify any education, employment, publication, or professional activity that may have not been included in the resume; and
  4. Review publicly available information to identify persons subject to sanctions or restrictions under U.S. federal law.
  5. Submit the applicant’s name and other identifying information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or any other federal agency willing to scrutinize the applicant for national security or counterespionage purposes.

The review and verification process will take place through the RIOFI, in coordination with Human Resources, the FAU Export Control Officer, third party vendors and other resources as needed.  The review of publicly available information for items 3 and 4 will focus on affiliations with a Foreign Countries of Concern.  

After the background check and the review process has been completed, if there are any areas of concern, the RIOFI shall review the information in connection with a subcommittee comprised of representatives from the Division of Research, the Division of Academic Affairs, the Office of Human Resources, and the Export Control Officer to make a risk-based determination regarding the hiring of the individual. An applicant who fails to disclose a substantial educational, employment, or research-related activity or publication or presentation may not be employed in a research or research-related support position unless the department head or designee certifies in writing the substance of the nondisclosure and the reasons for disregarding such failure to disclose.

The RIOFI may provide approval to move forward with an offer or make recommendations to the hiring authority for any limitations or rejections.  Those individuals rejected for employment based on the verification process and risk-based analysis must be reported by the RIOFI to the FBI and any law enforcement agency designated by the Florida Board of Governors. 

Failure to provide copies of the above-referenced information; identification of affiliations or activities that violate U.S. Federal/state laws, regulations or FAU policies; and/or failure to disclose a substantial educational activity, employment activity, research-related activity, publication, or presentation will result in further action, up to and including denial/termination of admission and/or employment. 

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For questions regarding the screening review process, please contact FAU’s Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer.