Research Security Bill Expands 'Foreign Country' Definition to Include Controlled Territories Starting 2026

This piece of legislation, titled the Research Integrity and Foreign Influence Prevention Act, is making a technical but important tweak to how the U.S. government defines a "foreign country" when it comes to national security and research integrity rules. Specifically, Section 2 updates the definition used for restricting what the government calls "malign foreign talent recruitment" efforts.

Closing the Regional Loophole

If you follow policy around academic research and foreign influence, you know there are rules in place designed to prevent certain countries of concern from using U.S. research institutions to steal intellectual property or gain military advantage. This bill is tightening those restrictions. Starting January 1, 2026, the definition of a "foreign country" for these purposes will officially expand to include any special administrative region or territory that is recognized as being controlled by one of those designated countries of concern. The text explicitly mentions Iran as an example to clarify the scope of these restrictions.

What This Means on the Ground

Think of this as a clarity measure that closes a potential administrative gap. Right now, if a country is on the security watch list, its main territory is covered. But what about its semi-autonomous regions or territories it controls? This bill makes it clear: if the country is a security risk, then its administrative regions are too. For example, if a researcher is affiliated with a university based in a special administrative region of a country of concern, that affiliation will now clearly fall under the same scrutiny as if they were affiliated with the country’s main capital.

This change primarily affects researchers and academics coming from or affiliated with these specific territories. While the bill doesn't create new restrictions out of thin air, it ensures that existing national security measures are applied consistently across all jurisdictions controlled by a country of concern. For U.S. research institutions, this provides clearer guidance on compliance, but for individuals from these newly included regions, it could mean more hurdles when seeking research positions or collaborations in the United States.