For Outside Visitors, Remember VisitNIH

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is reminding the NIH community of the VisitNIH visitor access requirements. These requirements align with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of National Security’s (ONS) Foreign National Access Management Policy (FNAMP).

Pre-registration

In accordance with federal policies and visitor protocols, all adult non-U.S. person visitors are required to complete the VisitNIH pre-registration process and receive approval prior to their arrival at NIH. Access will not be provided to non-U.S. person visitors who have not fulfilled these requirements.

A non-U.S. person is someone without U.S. citizenship or lawful resident (Green Card) status. Possession of a REAL ID driver’s license does not automatically confirm someone is a U.S. person. Please remind your visitors pre-registration is required for all non-U.S. persons.

NIH hosts can invite visitors to pre-register via the VisitNIH pre-registration portal. NIH staff should do this at least 30 days in advance of the visit. The request can be submitted up to 60 days in advance. This lead time enables NIH security teams to properly vet visitors and clarify any discrepancies in their pre-registration materials before coming to campus.

To host and request visitors, staff must satisfy the following eligibility requirements:

To be a host, one must be an NIH federal employee, a U.S. person and have completed the VisitNIH Host, Requestor & Escort Training (https://ams.hhs.gov/amsLogin/SimpleLogin.jsp).

To be a requestor who can initiate visit requests on behalf of a host, one must be an NIH staff member (including contractors with PIV cards), a U.S. person and have completed the VisitNIH Host, Requestor & Escort Training.

Upon completing training, staff must wait at least 24 hours to gain access to the portal. 

The maximum duration of a general visit request is 30 days. That said, patients, up to two caregivers and onboarding NIH staff may have visit requests with start and end dates covering a duration of up to one year.

To make the pre-registration process easier for large events, staff can use the bulk upload option to add multiple visitors at once. For events with 20+ visitors, add the Division of Police Special Events Staff as co-hosts within the VisitNIH pre-registration portal so they can monitor and track the event. Also, contact the Special Events team, so they may identify who should be added, by emailing NIHPoliceSpecialEvents@mail.nih.gov.

Escorts

In accordance with federal policies, all non-U.S. person visitors must have an NIH escort. NIH escorts are required to keep their non-U.S. person visitors in their immediate line of sight at all times. U.S. person visitors do not require an escort.

Escorts must accompany the non-U.S. person visitor for the duration of the visit. This includes meeting the non-U.S. person upon arrival, while they are in NIH facilities and until their exit from NIH facilities.

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Note for patients and caregivers: Non-U.S. person patients and up to two caregivers coming to the NIH Clinical Center, Children’s Inn or Safra Lodge are not required to have an escort for their visit. However, a name must still be entered in the “Escort” field on the VisitNIH pre-registration portal. It’s recommended that this name be the host.

To be an escort, one must be an NIH staff member (including contractors with PIVs), a U.S. person and have completed the VisitNIH Host, Requestor & Escort Training.

​NIH policy states there must be at least one eligible escort for every 5 non-U.S. person visitors. Staff organizing events which may be attended by multiple non-U.S. person visitors must ensure they have the requisite number of eligible escorts.

Every institute, center and office has a designated VisitNIH point of contact who can assist with initial questions about requirements and processes.

The NIH Bethesda campus implemented VisitNIH processes in January 2025. NIH is continuing to roll out VisitNIH to all NIH facilities. For a full list of facilities that have implemented thus far, visit the Implementation Plan on the VisitNIH intranet site.

Related Links

VisitNIH Intranet Site: https://orsweb.od.nih.gov/sites/VAMI/.

FAQs for staff and visitors: security.nih.gov. (NIH network or VPN is required for certain areas of the site).

VisitNIH Host, Requestor & Escort Training: bit.ly/46SkGTB.

Pre-registration Portal: https://pcvp.ors.od.nih.gov.