Export Controls and International Travel

You cannot travel to embargoed and sanctioned countries. 

• See OFAC’s Sanctions Program and Country Information Page for the most current list.

Consult with Cornell's Export Control Office prior to travel to: 

1. Run Restricted Party Screening.
2. See about travel to the following countries: Ukraine, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus

Ithaca, Cornell Tech, and Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) Cornellians should use this travel registry to record travel plans prior to travel: http://travelregistry.cornell.edu.

In addition to notifying relevant departments about Cornell business-related travel, registering makes each person eligible for emergency evacuation services should they be required.

Policies:

• Risk Management International Travel Policy
• Travel Expenses Policy

Under U.S. law, no individual is permitted to export encrypted software to a prohibited country or individual. 

Cornell-owned laptop computers are routinely equipped with encryption software and are subject to export control regulations under the EAR.

Any country can potentially confiscate systems or mobile computing devices entering or leaving their borders.

Cornell strongly recommends traveling with loaner devices.

• If your department does not have a loaner on hand for travel, contact your IT Department.
• If travel to one of a prohibited country is a frequent or routine occurrence and/or a loaner device isn't available, the IT Security Office can work with your IT staff: see here. 

U.S. Customs officials are authorized to search or retain electronic devices to look for violation of export controls, as well as other laws and regulations.

Consider taking a device equipped with only:

• ordinary, recognizable software 
• minimal data. 

TMP Exception Letter

All must apply:

• The item or software remains under the "effective control" of Cornell personnel while the property is abroad. Effective Control means - retaining physical possession of an item or maintaining it in a secure environment such as a hotel safe or locked facility.
• The item or software to return to the US within 12 months.
• The item or software to be shipped, retransferred, or hand-carried be used ONLY as a "tool of the trade" to conduct Cornell University business.

Any of the following:

• Any EAR satellite or space-related equipment, components, or software, or to any technology associated with high-level encryption products.
• Items, technology, data, or software regulated by ITAR.
• Items going to sanctioned countries: Ukraine, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, and Belarus.

Self-certify any exceptions to Cornell-owned electronic devices (the physical device and ordinary software installed on it) typically subject to the EAR:

• Laptops, iPhones, Android devices
• Mass market software such as Windows, OS X, Office, Adobe products, Visual Studio
• Open source software such as Linux, Apache

Actions to take prior to travel:

1. You must file a copy with the Export Controls Office before you travel (hard copy, a scan of the signed form, or the unsigned .pdf sent from your Cornell email account).
2. Take the signed copy with you and give it to a Customs official IF they question or inspect your device.

EAR’s personal baggage exception: ‘BAG.’