What is the International Visits Program for foreign visits to U.S. defense facilities?

DODD 5230.20, Visits and Assignments of Foreign Nationals, sets forth standard procedures concerning requests for visits, assignments, and exchanges of foreign nationals to the DoW and to DoW contractor facilities over which the DoW components have security responsibility. SAMM, Section C3.4, “Visits, Assignments, and Exchanges of Foreign Nationals,” provides further discussion relating to SC.

Foreign representatives (i.e., foreign nationals or U.S. citizens or nationals who are acting as representatives of a foreign government, firm, or person) may be authorized to visit DoW components or U.S. defense contractor facilities only when the proposed visit is in support of an actual or potential USG program (e.g., FMS, USG contract, or international agreement).

The International Visits Program (IVP) establishes policy and procedures to control international visits, and the information to be transferred during those visits. DoW policies and procedures pertaining to foreign visits are designed to achieve three objectives:

1. Facilitate planning, scheduling, and administration of a visit

2. Provide a vehicle for consideration of proposed export/disclosure decisions related to the visit and record the decision(s)

3. Obtain the required assurances regarding the security clearance, need-to-know, and sponsorship from the visitor’s government if classified military information is involved

Whether the DoW funds any portion of the visit is an entirely separate issue from the approval of the visit under the IVP. Before issuing an invitation, DoW officials must ensure that any classified information proposed for disclosure is approved by the Designated Disclosure Authority (DDA). Amendments to visits may be used only to change dates (no earlier dates) and list of visitors. The information to be discussed during the visit cannot change.

Visit requests to DoW organizations or facilities are submitted by the foreign embassy in Washington, D.C., usually by a military attaché of the international partner. The requests normally are submitted electronically through the automated Foreign Visit System (FVS), which has been provided by DIA to foreign embassies. The FVS is a component of the Security Policy Automation Network (SPAN). Requests must be submitted well in advance of the visit, and further in advance for liaison officer certifications.

The FVS automatically routes each request for visit to the Defense Visit Office (DVO) in the designated organizations. These include the Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, and Department of the Air Force for all organizations, facilities, and other entities under their control. DIA itself, which administers visit requests for the Office of the Secretary of War, the Joint Staff, defense agencies, and their contractors. The DVOs forward, as necessary, the visit requests to the appropriate foreign disclosure offices of the organizations to be visited, and seek their comment. Based on this input, the DVO renders a decision on the visit, which is returned over the same electronic path used for submission to the embassy of the country submitting the visit request. There are three possible responses to a visit request through IVP channels:

1. Approved: The visit can occur, and the specified information can be disclosed

2. Denied: The visit can occur, but the specified information cannot be disclosed

3. Not sponsored: There is no apparent government program. The visit can occur and information can be disclosed if there is a license or other authorization

Notification of approval of a foreign request for a visit or certification to a DoW component shall be forwarded to the contact officer of the DoW component concerned, or where the representative will visit. This notification shall contain adequate guidance regarding the parameters of the subject visit and the maximum permissible level of classified information that has been authorized for disclosure. Correspondence with DoW contractors relative to approved foreign visits shall be forwarded to the cognizant DCSA regional office for transmittal to the contractor.

Disclosures of classified information to foreign visitors and certified foreign representatives shall be limited to that authorized per disclosure authority and in-accordance to guidance from the Foreign Disclosure Officer. Disclosures of classified information are further limited to releasable oral and visual information, unless the release of documentary information is specifically authorized in an approved visit request or letter of acceptance for certified officials, or when the U.S. contractor has secured an export license specific to the documentation intended for release. When documentary release is authorized, the visitor must have courier orders.

A request of visit authorization is not required at a contractor facility when the information to be disclosed is unclassified and (1) it is not subject to export controls, or (2) it is subject to export controls, but a contractor has an export license. A visit authorization is typically not required at a DoW facility when the facility is open to the public and the information is open for public release according to service regulations.

However, if classified information is to be disclosed, a visit request must be submitted even though the contractor has a valid export authorization or license. In this case, the visit request is used to pass the security assurance on the visitors. Requests for classified documentary information resulting from a foreign visit shall otherwise be processed through normal foreign disclosure channels. In either case, classified documentary information shall be transferred through government-to-government channels, unless the visitor is also acting as a courier and has courier orders.

SCO personnel should be cognizant of the official travel of both host nation personnel to DoW organizations, as well as the travel of DoW personnel into country. SCOs frequently coordinate visits by host nation personnel to destinations such as a combatant command headquarters or a MILDEP installation for a program management review. However, the SCO cannot submit the visit request, which must originate in the host nation embassy in Washington, D.C., through the FVS. SCOs remind their host nation counterparts of this requirement and note that their own assistance in scheduling a visit is dependent on formal approval through the FVS. A SCO cannot approve a visit to any DoW organization or facility, other than its own office.