Cotton Introduces Bill to Protect Sensitive Academic Research from Foreign Nationals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
March 24, 2026

Cotton Introduces Bill to Protect Sensitive Academic Research from Foreign Nationals

Washington, DC - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced legislation to track foreign student and faculty visa holders in an effort to safeguard the sensitive research being done at American universities. The Educational Visa Transparency Act expands the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to include all student, faculty, and staff visa holders in U.S. higher education. It would also allow other federal agencies to access this information. The introduction of this bill follows several concerning cases in which foreign nationals, including from Communist China, attempted to smuggle dangerous biological materials into the United States, under the guise of academic research.

"Unmonitored foreign nationals in the labs and research centers of our colleges and universities pose a grave national security threat. My bill will require tracking all student and faculty visas to ensure foreign nationals aren't stealing valuable research," said Senator Cotton.

Text of the bill can be found here.

The Educational Visa Transparency Act would:

• Require the inclusion of all visa holders serving as students, faculty, or staff in U.S. higher education within the SEVIS database, and authorize Department of Justice to have access to the list as well, enabling more effective real-time monitoring, fraud detection, and rapid response to national security threats posed by foreign nationals in sensitive academic environments.

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