The past few years have shown a significant influx of new immigration orders and regulations. Since January 2017, there have been hundreds of changes to existing immigration regulations along with dozens of Executive Orders. While not every immigration update has affected the NIH community, the Division of International Services (DIS) has monitored and analyzed a large volume of updates to assess impact to the NIH community. DIS has also worked behind the scenes to mitigate potentially negative impacts of these immigration changes.
The year 2020 was no exception. Additional impacts on immigration rapidly arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic and drastically affected many of our researchers from across the globe. DIS monitored and informed the NIH community of regulatory changes and ongoing legal challenges through our newsletter listservs to scientists, administrative POCs, and sponsors. DIS has also worked diligently to update our DIS COVID-19 information webpage to optimize NIH community awareness of immigration updates and resources.
The ongoing pandemic is sure to bring about more immigration updates that may affect NIH researchers. For instance, South Africa was recently added to the list of countries subject to U.S. travel restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19. See the complete list of countries subject to travel restrictions at the CDC's list of Travelers Prohibited Entry to the United States. In addition, the CDC issued an Order requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19. CDC issued this order for all air passengers over the age of two arriving from a foreign country to the U.S. This requirement went into effect on January 26.
DIS shares important immigration updates, procedural changes, and event invitations via our Administrative Staff listserv. To subscribe to the listserv, send an email to listserv@list.nih.gov with the following text in the message body: "Subscribe KEYCONS-L@listserv.nih.gov your first and last name". If you have difficulty subscribing to the listserv, contact DIS at dis@mail.nih.gov.
In addition to electronic communications, each year DIS welcomes hundreds of administrators to our Annual Immigration Conference. In 2020 we had to cancel the conference due to COVID-19. This year due to COVID-19, DIS will provide training virtually, spread throughout the year to allow for maximum participation. Be on the lookout for details coming soon.
