Online Resources Available for Foreign Scientists During COVID

The Division of International Services (DIS) has bolstered its online resources to better disseminate important information regarding the impact of immigration changes and COVID-19 on the NIH Visiting Program. These updates are part of the continued adaptation of DIS services to follow safe physical distancing practices while supporting the NIH foreign national scientist community.

Our new DIS COVID-19 information webpage highlights key updates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

  • DIS Newsletter Archives: Use your NIH badge to access recent DIS newsletters issued to our Visiting Program scientists and NIH administrators and sponsors. Newsletters address immigration, procedure and policy changes relevant to foreign national scientists.
  • Document Pickup: Document pickup is now available by appointment only. To schedule your appointment, consult our Document Pickup webpage.
  • Advising: Zoom Walk-In advising with DIS is now available. Consult our COVID-19 webpage for more information. For case-specific questions or questions that may take more than 15 minutes to address, email DIS@mail.nih.gov to request a scheduled phone or video advising appointment.
  • Case Submission: Administrators must submit cases to DIS electronically via the NIH SEFT service. Prior to case submission, consult our Case Preparation resources, including our Document Submission & Required Signatures chart. To check the status of an active case, visit DIS Case State and Reports.
  • FAQs: The DIS COVID-19 webpage provides links to several different Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) resources, including a DIS FAQ resource for NIH trainees, administrators, and laboratory sponsors.

The immigration landscape in the United States is in constant flux and even more complicated due to COVID-19. DIS regularly updates our DIS COVID-19 information webpage to optimize NIH community awareness of immigration updates and resources.

Stay tuned with DIS! If you are an administrator, subscribe to our key contact newsletter: KEYCONS-L@list.nih.gov. If you are PI, subscribe to: VISITING_PROGRAM_SPONSORS@LIST.NIH.GOV. If you are a foreign national scientist, subscribe to: NIHISBNEWS@list.nih.gov.