U.S. regulations require that Cisco obtain a Deemed Export license before foreign nationals from certain countries access Cisco's controlled technologies. These technologies include:

• Total Digital Transfer Rate Exceeding 120 Gbps (oc768_5e001) – also known as high speed data transfer rates.
• Optical Switching (osw_5e001) - The routing of or switching of signals in optical form without conversion to electrical signals.

The U.S. Department of Commerce deemed export regulation (citation 732.2 (b) (ii) of the Export Administration Regulations [EAR]) defines an export to include a release of technology or software to a foreign national and considers such release to be a deemed export to the home country of the foreign national. An export license is required for release of controlled technology or software if a license would be required to export the same technology to the home country of the foreign national.

Under the provisions of the deemed export rule codified in the EAR, technology, software, or technical data (not publicly available) that originates in the United States and is "released" to foreign nationals is considered an "export" to that individual's home country—subject to the license requirements of the Department of Commerce for "dual-use" items exported to that country, or of the Department of State where a "defense article" or "defense service" is involved. In particular, the deemed export rule has a significant impact on entities that employ foreign nationals.

A "foreign national" is an individual who has not been granted a permanent residence visa (i.e., a "green card") or who is not a "protected person" (e.g., political refugees and asylum holders). Technology is "released" for export when it is made available to foreign nationals—whether employees or third parties—for visual inspection (such as technical specifications, blueprints, or plans), when technology is disclosed orally, or when technology is made available by practice or application under the guidance of persons with knowledge of the technology.

Cisco must apply for an export license under the deemed export rule when (i) the company intends to release or transfer controlled technologies and when (ii) export of the same technology to the foreign national's home country would require a license or other government authorization.

To Apply for a Deemed Export License

Cisco Legal requires the following items in order to prepare the export license application. Please send via fax the following five items to 1-408-877-1714 or send them as PDF file attachments to foreign-national-license@cisco.com

1. Detailed job description, preferably from your manager.
2. Current resume. Explain "gaps" in your resume longer than 30 days.
3. A complete copy of your most current passport, including blank pages.
4. A copy of your most current visa; I-94 and I-797 approval.
5. A completed FBI questionnaire.

Once filed, most deemed export license applications take, on average, 45 days to process. An applicant may not work with or have access to Cisco's controlled technology prior to obtaining a license.