Foreign Nationals Security Processing

Foreign Nationals Security Processing • Keisha Risby • Foreign National Visitors Program Manager • Personnel Security Staff

Who are “Foreign Nationals”? People who are not citizens or nationals of the United States or its territories: American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands by birth or naturalization are foreign nationals. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) (persons issued a ‘green card’) showing they have been granted the right to permanently reside in the U.S., are considered foreign nationals until they become naturalized.

U.S. Citizenship (or nationality) can only be proven in one of three ways: Presentation of a U.S. passport U.S. Citizenship Presentation of a Naturalization Certificate, Form N-550 or 570 (Replacement) Presentation of a birth certificate from a U.S. state or territory or a State Department-issued Report of Birth Abroad Form FS-240 or DS-1350

What is Required when a Foreign National Plans to Visit a USDA Facility • The foreign national must be hosted and escorted by a USDA employee. • A Foreign National Data Sheet (ARS-230) must be submitted for an all source check (name trace) • If a J-1 Visa will be obtained, additional documents must be provided (listed on another slide) • A favorable result of the all source check

Required Forms J-1 Program Security Check (only) • Assistance Memo for issuance of a DS-2019 • ARS-230 • Electronic scan of the passport data page. (include a copy for each family member) • Letter of Invitation • Student Transcripts (if a student) or curriculum vitae (if not a student) • AD-672 • Proof of Health Insurance (must be provided within 3 calendar days of arrival into the U.S.) • Copies of all applicable documents listed in Section II of the ARS-230 • Send electronically to J-1ExchangeVisitorProgram@ars.usda.gov • ARS – 230 • Copies of applicable documentation • Send electronically to ARS-230Securitycheck@ars.usda.gov Extensions • Extension Request Memo (J-1 only) • ARS-230 • Copy of Current DS-2019 (J-1 only) • Any new funding or health insurance documents, if applicable(J-1 only)

Who Needs an All Source Check (name trace) • Foreign visitor from a country on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list (Cuba, Sudan, Iran, Syria) • Foreign visitor requesting access to a USDA Facility Critical Infrastructure • Foreign visitor who requires IT login credentials to access a USDA network.

ARS-230 U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign National Data Sheet

What is the ARS-230 form?

When is Submission of an ARS-230 Required? An ARS-230 must be submitted whenever a foreign national will: • be present for more than five (5) days (consecutive or non-consecutive days within a 30-day period); • perform hands-on work; • be applying for a visa sponsored by a USDA office or agency; • receive Government funding; • be an employee of ARS; • Extended their visit; • It’s been over 30 days since the initial ARS-230 was cleared and the visitor hasn’t arrived yet.

ARS-230 • Who submits the ARS-230? • Who is the POC for my area? POC’s

Where to submit the ARS-230 form? For ARS-230 Only Ars-230Securitycheck@ars.usda.gov For J-1 Program Applicants Only J-1ExchangeVisitorProgram@ars.usda.gov

Common Errors on the ARS-230 Section I • All of the requested information is required; • NAME - lastname, first name middle name (a comma must separate the last and first name or the form will be returned to the POC); • Date of Birth – must be in the correct format MM/DD/YY; • Place of Birth – must list city and country • Marital Status – must specify single, married, divorced, etc.; • Country of Residence – the name of the country which granted the foreign national permission to legally reside within its borders; • Home Address – must list the full current physical address • Home Telephone and Mobile Number – list the number only if it’s a home or cell. Do not put the employer’s phone number

Common Errors on the ARS-230 cont. • Fax – list only if there is one • Residential Address in Other Countries During the Past 7 years – need the full address and the length of time at the address. This can be listed as exact dates or the number of years. • Occupation – list the occupation (i.e. Researcher) , or if a student, write “student”; • Employer/School’s Address – need the full address of either the school or employer; • Employer/School’s Telephone Number – should be the correct number and not the same number as the home or cell unless an individual is self-employed or something similar; • USDA Facility You Wish to Access – need the full name and address of the facility; • Date you expect to arrive and depart this facility – only list the proposed dates that the individual is expected to visit a USDA facility and not the dates they are in the U.S; • Will anyone accompany you on this trip – list the gender of the accompanying guest (i.e., spouse = husband or wife, child = son or daughter);

Common Errors on the ARS-230cont. Section II • Only list the information that the visitor currently has; • Passport expiration date – must be in the correct date format (mm/dd/yyyy); • Visa Type – must specify the type of Visa (B1, J1, H1B, etc). Or Visa Waiver Program (VWP) • Visa Number – the 8 digit number in the lower right side of the Visa; If under VWP, list the ESTA number • Visa Expiration Date – must be in the correct format (mm/dd/yyyy); • Form I-94 admitted until date – this is either a stamped date or DS (duration or study); Section III • Use the section for any changes Section IV • List the actual arrival and departure date to and from a USDA facility. * The ARS-230 should also be submitted when the visitor has arrived and departed the facility.

Roles and Responsibilites Host Escort Area Point of Contact (POC) Personnel Security Staff (PSS) Office of Homeland Security – Personnel & Document Security Division (OHSEC – PDSD)

Host Responsibilities Hosts are responsible for: • Ensuring all required information is included in the submission of foreign national screening requests within the timeframes stated in the policy; • Meeting foreign visitors at the designated building entrance on the arrival date to check them in, visually inspect their identification, and obtain the proper USDA badge or sticker; • Informing all foreign visitors of prohibited items or items that will be controlled in certain areas while visiting USDA facilities, such as cell phones, cameras, and laptop computers; • Collecting all USDA issued badges or stickers on the last day of the visit;

Host Responsibilities cont. • Ensuring escorts are assigned for foreign visits as required; • Responding to requests for additional information on follow-up checks and/or corrections • Immediately reporting any security anomalies, concerns, or incidents to agency leadership, the USDA Operations Center, the Office of the Inspector General (if applicable) and local law enforcement (if applicable).

Who May Host a Foreign National? Only U.S. citizens employed by USDA in permanent positions (this excludes career-conditional employees) that have a favorably adjudicated background investigation on file may host a foreign national.

ESCORT RESPONSIBILITIES As an escort, you will be responsible for: • Escorting foreign visitors according to the Foreign Visitor Access Management Policy (1:5 = 1 escort for every 5 visitors. Special Agent areas 1:1) • Ensuring foreign visitors wear their USDA issued badge or visitor sticker at all times above their waist in an easily observable position • Arranging multiple escorts, if necessary, to accommodate multiple visitors in different locations • Immediately reporting any security anomalies, concerns, or incidents to agency leadership, the USDA Operations Center, the Office of the Inspector General (if applicable) and local law enforcement (if applicable).

Area Point of Contacts (POC) POC’s are responsible for: • Reviewing all documents that are submitted by the host, checking for accuracy and completeness; • Serving as the liaison between the Personnel Security Staff (PSS) and the host; • Electronically submitting ARS-230’s and supporting documentation to PSS (password protected); • Submitting ARS-230 clearance results to the Host

PERSONNEL SECURITY STAFF Personnel Security Staff is responsible for: • Ensuring the ARS-230 is completed in it’s entirety • Requesting corrections to forms • Maintaining an electronic tracking system of all foreign visits • Serving as liaison between the Area POC’s and Office of Homeland Security -Personnel Security Division (OHSEC – PDSD) • Submitting all source check requests to OHSEC • Reporting all source check clearance results to Area POC’s, FAS, and FSIP • Providing guidance and updates to USDA employees on program matters

Office of Homeland Security PDSD is responsible for: • Entering the data from the ARS-230’s into a secured database to initiate the all source check; • Rejecting incomplete and/or inaccurate ARS-230’s and returning them to the PSS; • Retrieving all source check data from the secured database and reviewing the results; • Providing the results to the PSS; • Providing program guidance to PSS.

The Process

Processing Timeframes

Participating Visa Waiver Countries

Terms and Definitions • All-Source Check: A procedure whereby a request is made to appropriate U.S. Government agencies to determine whether information exists on a particular foreign national. Also none as the name trace. • Dual Citizenship: Recognition of a person as a citizen by more than one country. • Foreign National: A person who was born outside the jurisdiction of the United States and who has not been naturalized under U.S. law. • Foreign National Status: The period of time a foreign national is authorized to be in the United States and what type, if any, work he/she can participate in while in the United States as determined by his/her valid passport, visa, Permanent Resident Card, or other U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) documentation. • Foreign Visit: Any access by a foreign national to a USDA facility. • Green Card - The Permanent Resident Card, is known informally as a Green Card but its correct name is Form I-551 or ‘Permanent Resident Card’. • Host: The federal USDA employee who is the sponsor and point of contact responsible for the activities associated with the successful accomplishment of a visit to a USDA facility. • State Sponsors of Terrorism: Countries that have been identified by the Department of State as sponsors of groups and/or activities which support terrorism or terrorist activities and are on the list of state sponsors or terrorism.

REFERENCES • Presidential Decision Directive – 12 (PDD-12), Security Awareness and Reporting of Foreign Contacts, August 5, 1993. • Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) – 21, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, February 12, 2013 • Title 7, Code if Federal Regulations (CFR), Agriculture, section 2.95 (7 CFR 2.95) Director, Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Coordination • Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors, August 27, 2004 • Departmental Manual (DM) 4620-002, Common Identification Standards for U.S. Department of Agriculture Employees and Contractors, January 14, 2009 • Departmental Regulation (DR) 3440-2, Control and Protection of Sensitive Security Information (SII), January 30, 2003

Contacts Personnel Security Staff Keisha Risby Program Manager - Operations Desk – 301-504-1525 keisha.risby@ars.usda.gov Maya Callender Program Assistant Desk – 301-504-4605 maya.callender@ars.usda.gov Forest Service (FSIP) Rim Eid (BA, NAA, SAA, MSA) reid@fs.fed.us Misty Sidhu (PWA, NPA, SPA, MWA) msidhu@fs.edu Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Jean Good Jean.good@fas.usda.gov)

Foreign Nationals Security Processing