U.S. laws and regulations restrict and/or prohibit U.S. persons from traveling to or engaging in transactions with certain countries.
Country-Specific Regulations
The restrictions, in the form of economic embargoes, trade sanctions programs, export controls, and anti-boycotting laws, differ in scope based on the subject country and do change from time to time. Currently, the following countries are subject to comprehensive embargoes, which strictly governs travel to these countries:
- Belarus
- Cuba (see specific Cuba license info)
- Iran
- North Korea
- Russia
- Syria
- Ukraine (Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions)
All University faculty, staff, or students traveling to these countries must consult with the University’s Export Controls Officer in the Research and Innovation Office prior to departure to ensure whether travel is permitted for their proposed purpose, any special government licenses are required, and to understand if there are any restrictions on items you may wish to bring along. Licenses can take as long as two to three months to obtain, so travelers are urged to contact the Export Controls Officer as early as possible. More information on embargoed countries can be found on the RIO website.
Note: The use of Duo is restricted in U.S. embargoed countries and may impact your ability to access University technology and resources from abroad.
Export Controls
Export controls are federal statutes and regulations that govern certain transactions having international components including the transfer of commodities, data, hardware, software, and technology to non-U.S. persons and destinations as well as those involving countries or entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions. U.S. Export control laws apply to academic travelers and failure to comply can have grave consequences including civil and criminal sanctions, including imprisonment. Export controls can arise with travel due to the:
- Location of the travel,
- People with whom you interact while traveling,
- Items you take with you,
- Items you ship for use while abroad, and
- Nature of the information you take with you (even if you do not intend to share it).
The University’s Export Controls Officer in the Research and Innovation Office can answer any questions or concerns regarding export controls.