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Office of Research Services

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DIS Administrative Staff

Administrative Staff

B-1/WB Delegate Program at NIH

The B-1/WB Delegate Program allows appointed administrative staff members within an Institute/Center (IC) to coordinate the short-term stay of foreign national scientists (visitors at NIH for less than 90 days) without sending a case to DIS. These administrative staff members, or B-1/WB Delegates, provide an invitation letter and pre-arrival guidance to short-term visitors eligible for B-1 or WB status. The Delegate invitation letter templates are not online; DIS sends the templates to administrative staff once they join the Delegate Program.

To join the Delegate Program, an administrative staff member must attend a DIS training and submit a completed Delegate Attestation form to DIS. A list of current Delegates can be found on the bottom of the KeyCon List/ IC Data Sheet webpage.

Consult the B-1/WB Temporary Visitors webpage for more information on B-1 and WB status, including how to determine which short-term business visitor status is most appropriate.

Delegate Responsibilities

General
  • Attend a DIS B-1/WB Delegate training at least once every two years.
  • Use the Delegate Program for Intramural Research Program use only.
  • Do not delegate any Delegate responsibilities to other individuals who are not DIS-approved Delegates themselves.
  • Acknowledge that DIS can conduct audits of any short-term B-1/WB visitor records.
  • Read all email updates and program reminders sent from the B-1/WB Delegate email listserv.
  • Notify DIS if unable to accept any updated delegate responsibilities.
  • Notify DIS and transfer any visitor records to another DIS-approved Delegate in the IC before leaving current IC.
Before Visitor Arrival​
  • Determine the visitor's eligibility for B-1/WB status at the NIH per the B-1/WB Statement.
  • Send a case to DIS for processing if the visitor's stay at the NIH has the potential to exceed 90 days.
  • Depending on the visitor's country of citizenship, issue the correct and most recently updated invitation letter (B-1, WB, China, or Canada).
  • If applicable, determine the individual's eligibility for honorarium per DIS guidance.
  • If applicable, remind all WB visitors to register for ESTA and all Chinese visitors to enroll in EVUS prior to their travel to the United States.
After Visitor Arrival
  • Meet with the visitor upon arrival to NIH to review immigration documents and, if IC is requesting a NIH badge, make copies of those documents to send to DIS.
    • Do not send the visitor to the DIS office for badge clearance.
  • If the IC is requesting a NIH badge for the visitor, fax to DIS the following:
  • Retain all documents regarding the visitor's visit in a secure location and keep copies on file in accordance with IC program area file retention requirement.
  • Contact DIS immediately if the foreign national has been entered in WT or B-2 status and forward the above-mentioned documents along with initial invitation letter.​
DIS Info

​​​Service Hours:
9:00AM - 4:00PM ET

Non-FTE Check-In/EOD:
Monday By 11:30am (​in local time zone of lab)
Submit Remotely
Advising Services:
Drop-Ins and Appointments​
Document Pickup:
By Appointment
J-1/J-2 Travel Signature Requests:​
Submit Remotely
Badge Validation:
Submit Remotely