I'm working with a student overseas who wants to bring environmental DNA (water filters preserved with ethanol) to my laboratory in the U.S. for a research project. It is not entirely clear to me whether the USDA or other agencies would require an import permit. Has anyone imported eDNA samples into the U.S.? Do you have advice or places I should start?
Thanks!
I have not imported material to or from the US but for other countries it is usually a good idea to contact your national Department of Agriculture as well as the country in which you export from just to double check the specific rules. It probably is a good idea to start with USDA, see below for a suggestion:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/permits
What I ended up doing, after discussion with USDA APHIS, was
1) ensure our samples were treated with an RNase so that they could be certain that RNA viruses would not be active, if present (apparently there are some RNA viruses of importance for agriculture in the U.S.A.)
2) submit an application for a P526 permit for importation. They did not have a name for "nucleic acids" in their drop down list of scientific names for sample species, so I used "Various Species of Bacteria" and wrote in the follow up fields that these were "DNA samples treated with RNase, no viable organisms." I was also able to add the information (name, phone number) of the person "hand carrying" the samples from overseas.
3) My contact asked that I let them know when I submitted the application so they could process it.
4) They then sent a letter stating that no permit was required, which the person bringing the samples with them could carry.
In the end, there was no issue with customs and everything went smoothly. I hope this helps others in a similar situation!
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