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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
LABORATORY SECURITY CONCERN: How it affects visitors

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U.S. Visitors to Whom this Procedure Applies

General Points

Procedural Steps

Department of Defense (DoD) Visitors

Related Links:

Important Points about Classified Visits READ FIRST!

Guidelines for Completing Form 5631.20 (for use by visitor's    organization)

Requesting Sigma Access for Visitors

Tips for Visitors to Los Alamos National Laboratory

Visitor Guide to Los Alamos National Laboratory

Memorandum: Impact of the Badge Office's badging system on visit control.

• Hold a DOE clearance but was not issued a DOE Standard badge (instead was issued a site-specific badge by the agency or site that holds the clearance);
• Hold a DOE clearance and was issued a DOE Standard badge but did not bring this badge for the LANL visit;
• Is a LANL worker (UC, subcontractor, affiliate, etc.) holding a DOE clearance that has been extended from another site (i.e., the other site is the primary clearance holder);
• Hold a Department of Defense (DoD) / U.S. Government (USG) clearance.

• LEAD TIME FOR VISIT APPROVAL. Allow sufficient lead time to obtain any access approvals (generally a minimum of 5 work days before the visit) plus creation or updating of EIS record (see below) if necessary (allow an additional 2 work days).
• WHO MAY BE A LANL HOST. The visitor's host must:
  • be a U.S. citizen;
  • be a University of California employee of the Laboratory or a Federal employee of DOE's Office of Los Alamos Site Operations (DOE/OLASO), formerly the Los Alamos Area Office;
  • have an active clearance held on behalf of LANL or DOE/OLASO;
  • hold a clearance that permits classified access equal to or greater than that granted to the visitor.
• AUTHORIZED VISIT PERIOD:
• Visitor's clearance must be on file (i.e., valid for) at least the length of the visit
• Visit authorization period cannot exceed one year (see section concerning Department of Defense (DoD) contractors
• CLEARED U.S. VISITOR SITE BADGE. Review eligibility requirements and characteristics of LANL site-specific cleared U.S. citizen visitor badges.

• VISITOR HOLDS A DOE CLEARANCE. If the visitor holds a DOE clearance (including individuals whose clearance has been extended to LANL) on behalf of a DOE agency or a DOE contractor:
  • in the DOE weapons complex, skip to the paragraph LANL HOST ORGANIZATION;
  • that is not part of the DOE weapons complex
    • the visitor's organization's security officer must submit, by fax, a properly completed and signed DOE Form 5631.20 (consult the Guidelines for completing this form) to the the DOE/HQ/NNSA Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security Programs (NA-55) (Fax: 301/903-3395) if authorization for access to Secret Restricted Data (SRD) or above plus weapon data (Sigma) is being requested;
    • The LANL Badge Office's Control of Classified Visits Program must verify DOE/HQ's Sigma approval once DOE/HQ has received DOE Form 5631.20 from the visitor's organization and made its decision;
    • Skip to the paragraph LANL HOST ORGANIZATION if no weapon data access is being requested.
• VISITOR HOLDS A DoD/USG CLEARANCE. If the visitor does not work for DOE or hold a DOE clearance (e.g., works for the Department of Defense [DoD] or one of its subcontractors, another U.S. Government agency, or a non-governmental entity) then the visitor's organization's security officer must submit, by fax, a properly completed and signed DOE Form 5631.20 (consult the Guidelines for completing this form) to:
  • The DOE Defense Program's NNSA Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security Programs (NA-55)(Fax 301/903-3395) if authorization for access to Secret Restricted Data (SRD) or above plus weapon data (Sigma) is being requested;
  • The LANL Badge Office's Control of Classified Visits Program (Fax 505/667-9194) if authorization for SRD with no weapon data (NWD) - the form must include the title of the security officer for verification that the individual signing is a DoD certified security officer;
  • The LANL Badge Office's Control of Classified Visits Program (Fax 505/667-9194) if authorization for a classification lower than SRD is being requested; note that if a classification less than SRD (e.g., SNSI, CRD) is being requested, a DoD classified visit form may be used in place of DOE Form 5631.20.
• LANL HOST ORGANIZATION. The LANL host organization must:
• Submit Lab Form 1782 Request to Create or Update an EIS Record (formerly Z Number Assignment Request) if the visitor does not have an EIS record; if an EIS record already exists, but is missing any mandatory data (SSN, DOB, citizenship, employer) or data is not correct, the correct data should be provided to the Badge Office as soon as possible, since the visit cannot be processed until a complete, current EIS record exists;
• Complete and submit to the Badge Office Lab Form 1735 (U.S. Visitor Badge Request) - it is essential to complete the form and submit it to the Badge Office promptly so that the visitor(s) are not unnecessarily inconvenienced after arrival.  The visitor's host, and only the host, must sign the form, since by this signature the host takes responsibility for the visitor from the start to the end of the visit.
• Specify on Lab Form 1735 what badge reader enrollment, if any, is requested for the visitor's badge (the host may select from the available options). Review enrollment details available.
• REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO SIGMA CLASSIFIED MATTER. Special procedures apply if Sigma access is being requested (see note at the bottom concerning DoD contractors)
• REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO SCI. If the classified visit involves access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), a formal request must be submitted by the visitor's SCI security officer directly to NIS-IT (SCIF Operations) - note
  • This requirement applies to all visitors needing access to SCI, e.g., DOE Weapons Complex, DOE non-Weapons Complex, other government agencies, etc.
  • Visitors must have a DOE Q clearance or a DoD TS clearance
  • Classified access requested should show as SNSI
• ISSUANCE OF SITE VISITOR BADGE.
  • If all necessary information and approvals have been obtained, the Badge Office will be ready to badge the visitor upon arrival, or will have the badge ready, if a picture is not required. Note - if a digital picture of the visitor can be supplied in advance, the picture badge can prepared in advance;
  • If a visitor's access, at some time after receiving a cleared visitor site badge, is approved at a higher Sigma level, it is not necessary for the visitor to be re-badged if a copy of Lab Form 1735 documenting the higher-level Sigma approval is with the visitor's host at all times.

• DoD CLEARANCES:
• Only a final DoD clearance is accepted for access to DOE classified matter. An interim DoD clearance cannot be accepted.
• Approval of access to specific Sigma levels depends on whether the DoD clearance holder has or has not been CNDWI (Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information)-briefed
• If a DoD clearance holder visits LANL to do work on behalf of the Laboratory, a request must be made for a reciprocal DOE clearance, based on the DoD clearance, and must be granted by the time the visit is to begin
• DoD CONTRACTORS:
• DoD frequently authorizes visit periods for its contractor personnel of less than the one year maximum DOE permits - typically for a period of three to six months.
• If classified access involves Sigma 1 or Sigma 2:
  • It is DoD policy not to grant its contractor personnel access to weapon design information (equivalent to DOE's Sigma 1 and 2) on a continuing basis, but for only one month at a time - therefore, DOE will approve Sigma 1 or 2 for cleared DoD contractor visitors for a maximum of 30 days at a time;
  • If the LANL host wishes the DoD contractor visitor to have additional 30-day extensions of Sigma 1 or Sigma 2 approval, a new Lab Form 1735 requesting such an extension should be submitted to the Badge Office's Control of Classified Visits program - otherwise, the visitor's approval will automatically revert to Sigma 3 for the remainder of the approved visit period. Allow adequate lead time to obtain DOE/HQ approval;
  • DoD contractor visitors approved initially for Sigma 1 or Sigma 2 will be issued an cleared U.S. visitor site badge for a maximum of 30 days, regardless of the authorized visit period's length.