Imports Recent Developments

EH&S SafetyMatters Newsletter: Summer Edition 2026

The Summer 2026 Edition of Environmental Health and Safety's SafetyMatters newsletter is now published! The issue includes an article titled "Importing to the U.S.: What You Need to Know," written by staff in the Office of Research Compliance and Training. The full newsletter can be found here.

2026 Indiana University Researcher Deported Over Smuggling Charge 

On April 10th, 2026, a post-doctoral researcher from Indiana University (IU) pleaded guilty to smuggling biological material into the U.S.  The researcher, who held a J-1 visa, was conducting USDA-sponsored research on crop resistance to fungal diseases. While returning from a research trip in the U.K., the researcher was interviewed by CBP officials in Chicago O’Hare International Airport. During the questioning, he admitted to concealing DNA plasmids grown in E. coli bacteria in a shipment he had previously received which was labeled as containing women’s clothing. Upon this admission, he was arrested and had his visa terminated. In April, he was sentenced to 4 months in prison, a $500 fine, and 1-year supervised release. As a result of the plea deal, he will be immediately deported from the U.S. Additional details are available in the articles below: 

2025 Harvard Researcher Detained at Logan International Airport

On February 16, 2025, a Harvard researcher was taken into custody at Boston-Logan International Airport after failing to declare biological materials to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The researcher, a Russian national, was self-transporting clawed frog embryo samples from Paris to the U.S for use in research that she was conducting at Harvard Medical School. Following the initial interrogation, she was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement agents in Vermont, and temporarily relocated to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, where deportation proceedings were initiated. She was later released from ICE detention. She was charged with one count of smuggling goods to the U.S., and if convicted, she faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Additional details are available in the articles below:

2025 University of Michigan Researcher Charged with Smuggling

On November 12, 2025, a researcher at the University of Michigan pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling biological materials into the U.S. and providing false statements to law enforcement agents. The researcher was in the U.S. on a J-1 visa and working on laboratory research to reduce crop disease. As part of her plea, the researcher admitted to transporting undeclared seeds and a restricted fungal strain on her person and via another colleague traveling from China to the U.S. She was sentenced to 5 months time served and allowed to return to China. Additional details are available in the articles below: 

2025 Three University of Michigan Researchers Charged in Smuggling Investigation 

On November 5th, 2025, three research scholars were criminally charged with smuggling biological materials to the U.S. The three individuals were in the U.S. on J-1 visas and conducting laboratory research at the University of Michigan. According to the complaint, the researchers had received several shipments of concealed biological materials, including roundworm samples, from China between 2024 and 2025 and had provided false statements to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Additional details are available in the articles below: