U.S. government agencies and U.S. allies maintain public lists of individuals and entities, which are restricted or prohibited from participating in certain types of transactions with U.S. persons (defined as U.S. citizens and permanent residents or any corporation, business, organization, or group incorporated in the U.S. under U.S. law). Individuals and entities can be placed on these public lists (i.e., restricted party lists) for multiple reasons ranging from tax evasion to terrorism. These lists include both domestic and international individuals and entities.
Restricted party screenings (RPS) check against the aforementioned lists and are necessary in order to rule out possible restrictions or prohibitions on prospective Academic Visitors and their sponsors. This short step also ensures that the University of Pittsburgh and the sponsoring school or department do not unknowingly violate the law. RPS are required for all Category 2 and 3 Visitors and their affiliated institution, company, or sponsor due to their length of stay on campus, and in most cases, their proposed research activities and access to higher risk University laboratories. RPS are recommended for Category 1 Visitors and their affiliated institution, company, and sponsor.
RPS are automatically integrated into the University's Visitor record-keeping system (the MyEC system) and need not be completed by the host department or host faculty member separately from the MyEC record submission. Information on how RPS are incorporated into the the MyEC system, as well as how RPS can be conducted independently of the system, is provided on the Hosting Visitors page under Step 2: Visitor Screening and Export Controls Review.