Research career development K award, CDA, citizenship

12.3.4 Citizenship

For CDA programs other than the K99/R00 program, only U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals or individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time an offer of an award is made, are eligible for this award. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible to apply for a CDA unless they have begun the process for becoming a permanent resident and expect to be admitted as a permanent resident by the earliest possible award date. In an application package, on the PHS398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form, the option of selecting "Non-citizen with temporary visa" is applicable to K99/R00 candidates only.

Noncitizen nationals are individuals who, although not citizens of the United States, owe permanent allegiance to the United States. They generally are born in outlying possessions of the United States (e.g., American Samoa and Swains Island).

Individuals who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence must have a currently valid Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551) or other legal verification of such status. For example, if an individual has the proper validation on their passport, a notarized photocopy of the passport could suffice. Because there is a 6-month limitation on this validation, it is the applicant organization's responsibility to follow up and ensure that the candidate receives the I-551 before the 6-month expiration date.

An individual expecting to be admitted as a permanent resident by the earliest possible award date listed in the career award NOFO may submit an application recognizing that no award will be made until legal verification of permanent resident status is provided to NIH. The submission of documentation concerning permanent residency is not required as part of the initial application.

Applicants who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, i.e., have a Permanent Resident Card or other legal verification of such status, should check the Permanent Resident of U.S. box in Section 3. Citizenship of the PHS398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form. Applicants who have applied for and have not yet been granted admission as a permanent resident or have been granted Conditional Permanent Residency Status should also check the same box.

If a candidate's citizenship status changes after submission of an application, the new status should be reported in the candidate's Personal Profile in the eRA Commons.

In all cases involving any type of Permanent Residency status, when an application is selected to receive an award, prior to any award being issued, a notarized statement will be required that documents that a licensed notary has seen the candidate's valid Permanent Resident Card or other valid verification from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service of legal admission to the U.S. In all cases where Permanent Residency status is involved, it is the responsibility of the recipient institution to assure the individual remains eligible for the project period of the award.