Hosting Visitors

The University fully supports the hosting of foreign visitors, including students, researchers, officials, and other individuals to advance our mission. Certain actions are required before issuing an invitation or sponsoring a visa.

If you still have questions after reviewing these guidelines, please contact the Office of Global Engagement.

Visiting students

All visiting students must have a home department and a faculty sponsor while at Rochester. The Office of Global Engagement coordinates the application and onboarding process for all visiting students, including restricted party screening. Departments should follow the process outlined on the Office of Global Engagement’s website.

Visiting faculty and researchers

All visiting faculty and researchers undertaking significant research or teaching activities at Rochester should have a formal appointment at the University. Departments should follow their school’s process for appointing visiting faculty and researchers. This process should include ensuring the visitor signs a Visiting Scientist Agreement.

Hosts should contact the Office of Global Engagement early in the process to assist with obtaining the appropriate visa and to conduct restricted party screening.

It is also important to ensure visiting collaborators and researchers understand the University’s Intellectual Property Policy and limitations on their use of University-owned resources and intellectual property after they have returned to their home institutions.

The University is currently developing additional guidance to clarify categories of visiting faculty and researchers.

Short-term visitors

Short-term visitors include, but are not limited to, lab and facility visitors, foreign students, international officials, guest lecturers, and speakers. The process of formalizing a definition for “short-term” is in progress, and more explicit guidelines will be shared as they are available.

Best practices for hosting short-term visitors include ensuring:

No confidential or proprietary information is visible or discussed during the visit
Appropriate measures for safeguarding sensitive information are in place
Visitors are not left unattended during their visit
No University material or equipment is removed from campus, without appropriate prior review and approval by University administration

Important issues to consider with visitors

There may be instances where additional measures should be taken for visitors.

If a visitor (or their institution) appears on a United States Government (USG) restricted party list that would impact the University’s ability to host the visitor or collaborate with their home institution, please contact ORPA at josef.mejido@rochester.edu or the Office for Global Engagement at megan.bennett-spears@rochester.edu to perform restricted party screening prior to the visitor’s arrival on campus.

Access to specific facilities may need to be restricted or a license issued by the USG may be required to allow visitors access. Please contact the University’s Export Control Officer at export@rochester.edu for assistance in determining if a license is required.

For researchers and facilities focused on areas of competitive research and emerging technologies that may lead to sensitive results (e.g., nanotechnology, quantum, genomics, advanced manufacturing), there may be additional measures needed. These could include mandatory restricted party screening and maintenance of a permanent log of visitors in the facility.

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Global Engagement. You can also find more details in our International Research Guidelines PDF.