DD Form 1998, the Foreign National Visitor and Assignment Request, is the document a U.S. citizen sponsor completes to request Department of Defense installation or cleared contractor access for a non-U.S. citizen visitor. You download the current PDF from the DoD Executive Services Directorate’s forms portal at esd.whs.mil, fill in the sponsor and visitor sections using the visitor’s passport data, and submit it through your Facility Security Officer into the Foreign Visits System weeks before the visit date. The rest of this article walks through each step and the export-control checks that go with it.
When You Need to File It
DoD Directive 5230.20 splits foreign visits into two categories. An official visit is one where a foreign national is sponsored by their government or an international organization to conduct approved official business. An unofficial visit covers a foreign national who is not government-sponsored and whose purpose involves only publicly available information.
DD Form 1998 applies to official visits and assignments: government-to-government defense cooperation programs, technical information exchanges, extended personnel assignments at U.S. military commands, and contractor facility tours tied to foreign military sales. If the visit covers only areas and events open to the general public, the formal request process does not apply.
Under the NISPOM (32 CFR Part 117), requests for meetings involving classified or controlled information must list each foreign representative with their nationality, name, and organizational affiliation. The sponsor must be a U.S. citizen. Foreign nationals cannot sponsor other foreign nationals through this process.
Information to Gather Before You Open the Form
Incomplete submissions are the most common reason requests come back unreviewed. Collect and verify everything below before you start typing. The sponsoring organization, not the visitor, is responsible for the accuracy of what goes on the form.
- Visitor identification: full legal name exactly as it appears on the passport, date of birth, city and country of birth, current citizenship, passport number, and passport expiration date.
- Immigration status, if the visitor is already in the U.S.: visa classification, visa control number, and date of entry.
- Professional affiliation: the foreign government agency, military branch, international organization, or private employer sponsoring the travel.
- Visit details: the specific DoD installation or contractor facility, proposed start and end dates, and the names and contact information for the U.S. points of contact at each location.
- Purpose and scope: a clear description of the official business, including the types of information or programs the visitor will need to access.
For visits involving controlled unclassified information or classified material, document the specific categories of data the visitor may encounter and the basis for their need to access it. Vague descriptions like “general orientation” tend to get flagged and returned.
Filling Out the Form
Pull a fresh copy of DD Form 1998 from esd.whs.mil for every request. Navigate to the DD Forms 1500–1999 index and download the current PDF. Washington Headquarters Services periodically updates approved editions, and submitting an outdated version can delay processing.
The form has two main halves: the requesting organization’s information and the foreign national’s personal and visit details.
Sponsor Section
Identify your organization, the installation where the visit will take place, and your role as the U.S. point of contact assuming responsibility for the visitor. Confirm you meet the U.S. citizen requirement before signing.
Visitor Section
Enter names, dates, and document numbers exactly as they appear on the visitor’s passport. Even minor discrepancies between the form and travel documents can trigger a return.
Purpose and Scope
Be specific about what the visitor will do, see, and discuss. Spell out the program name, the technical subject area, and the classification level of any information involved. Reviewers who cannot quickly determine why this person needs access at this facility are likely to deny or delay the request.
If the visit covers multiple installations or spans an extended assignment period, each location and date range needs its own entry. Confirm the proposed dates leave enough lead time for processing. A request for a visit that starts next week almost certainly will not be approved in time.
Submitting the Request
Completed forms do not go directly to the approving authority. They route through your Facility Security Officer (FSO) or local Security Management Office, who reviews the package for completeness and transmits it through secure channels. For most DoD components, the request then enters the Foreign Visits System (FVS), which distributes it electronically to one of four Defense Visit Offices housed within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and DIA. Those offices staff the request with the appropriate DoD and contractor facilities before deciding.
Government-to-government visits typically originate through the sponsoring government’s embassy in Washington, D.C., which submits directly into FVS. Embassies not connected to FVS must send two typed copies of the request to the applicable Defense Visit Office, which enters and processes the request manually.
Individual installations set their own advance-submission windows. Some require forms at least 14 days ahead of the visit, and others set longer lead times for visits involving classified programs. Plan for several weeks between submission and approval, longer for extended assignments or visits requiring classified access. Keep a copy of everything you submitted, because denials and requests for additional information travel back through the same secure channels. Check in with your FSO periodically for status.
Export Control Before the Visitor Arrives
An approved DD Form 1998 handles the access-control side of the visit. It does not, by itself, handle the export-control side, and this is where sponsoring organizations most often get tripped up.
Under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), releasing controlled technical data or defense services to a foreign person inside the United States counts as a “deemed export” to that person’s country of nationality. The data does not have to leave the building or change hands physically. Visual access is enough. If a foreign visitor can see a controlled drawing on a monitor, observe a manufacturing process through a window, or view defense articles on a factory floor, a deemed export has occurred.
That means the host facility may need an export license from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in addition to the approved visit request, depending on the items involved and the visitor’s nationality. Under ITAR, exports to all countries are presumed to require a license unless a specific exemption applies. For items controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) rather than ITAR, license requirements depend on the specific item, its intended end use, the destination country, and the end user, evaluated case by case.
Screen nationality before granting access to any area where controlled items or data are present. Plan and document practical safeguards ahead of the visit: escort requirements, visual barriers such as covering drawings or locking screens, and restricting visitor movement to pre-approved areas. Improvising on the day of the visit is how deemed export violations happen.
Escort and Access Rules After Approval
Approved visitors typically receive a visitor pass valid for either the stated duration of the visit or 30 days, whichever is shorter. The visitor must present a valid passport with the pass at each entry point.
Escort requirements are strict. At many installations, the sponsor must physically accompany the foreign visitor at all times on the installation. The visitor cannot move independently between buildings or areas. The sponsor is personally responsible for ensuring the visitor accesses only the locations and information authorized in the approved request.
If the scope changes after approval, for example the visitor needs to tour an additional facility or discuss a topic not covered in the original request, submit a modification through the same channels before that access occurs. For extended assignments, start renewal or extension paperwork well before the current authorization expires.
What Noncompliance Costs
Failing to properly document and authorize a foreign national visit creates exposure on two fronts.
On the DoD side, violations of visitor access protocols can lead to administrative sanctions against the host organization, including suspension or revocation of the facility’s security clearance. For a cleared contractor, that ends the ability to perform classified work.
On the export-control side, a deemed export violation under ITAR carries civil penalties of up to $1,271,078 per violation, or twice the value of the transaction involved, whichever is greater. Willful violations can result in criminal prosecution under 22 U.S.C. § 2778(c), which authorizes both fines and imprisonment. These penalties apply to the organization and potentially to individual employees who authorized or facilitated the unauthorized access.
Treat every foreign national visit as both a security event and a potential export-control event. The DD Form 1998 process exists to force that dual analysis before the visitor walks through the door.