Security Checks
Please note that the following information is meant to be used only by Florida State University faculty, staff, students, and potential students of Florida State University and only in the context of international visits to FSU specifically. It is not intended to be used and should not be construed as general legal advice.
Departments and scholars should be aware that exchange visitors could be subjected to security checks for a number of reasons – if their name is similar to a person of interest, if their name is extremely common, if they are working in a field of sensitive and/or dual use technology (science that can be used for both civilian and military applications), if they are from a country of concern for security reasons, or if the consular officer at their own discretion decides that a security check is warranted. Security checks delay visa processing 90 days on average, but could, in a few cases, delay the process by 6 months or more.
All visa applications are subjected to an initial name check which sometimes prompts further checks into an individual’s background.
Currently, the list of sensitive technologies which prompt security checks by consular officers is currently classified and unavailable to the general public. In the past, this list has included field such as superconductivity, nuclear physics, biochemistry, satellite imaging, and materials science. In general, fields which have a military use or which could contribute to nuclear proliferation are usually areas of concern.
Geographic areas of concern are classified also, but individuals from Middle Eastern countries, India, China, Russia, and former soviet republics, particularly the Ukraine, seem to encounter security checks more frequently.
There is, unfortunately, nothing that the International Center or FSU departments can do to speed security checks. Once an individual’s record is passed from the consulate to agencies in Washington D.C. which conduct the security checks, there is no way to expedite the process or, in most cases, to obtain information on how long it will take. Initial invitation letters from departments which clearly, simply, and succinctly explain what a scholar will be doing during their stay are the only way to assist initially with a consular officer’s decision regarding whether or not submitting a record for security checks is appropriate.