Technology Alert List (A Complete Guide)

If you have just encountered the term “Technology Alert List” and are curious about its meaning, this blog post is a perfect fit. In this guide, we will provide you with complete details about the Technology Alert List, its purpose, history, and more. Read through the blog post, and you will have a clear answer to all of your questions regarding the TAL.

The Technology Alert List also known as the TAL, is a US Visa Security Check, which includes a list of occupations and fields where the federal government of the United States wants to ensure there is a very limited transfer of knowledge, goods, and sensitive information to keep the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, and US-held technologies away from the world.

This list is a part of export control technologies, and TAL serves as a guide for the VISA officers who are evaluating the application of the candidates in the provided list. So, the VISA officer has to pay some extra attention to the applications involving TAL categories.

A total of fifteen categories are included in the TAL list which are there for sensitive technologies restrictions. These categories can have further subcategories as well. So, if your profession falls in the parent category of the below-provided categories, you can be put on the technology alert list.

1. Nuclear Technology (Weapons of mass destruction and TAL are made for each other)
2. Conventional Weapons (Munitions)
3. Rocket Systems
4. UAV & Rocket Sub Systems
5. Navigation for Flight Control (Used for UAVs)
6. Chemical & Biotechnology
7. Remote Sensing, Imaging & Reconnaissance
8. Advanced Computer & Micro-Systems
9. Materials Technology
10. Information Security
11. Laser Technology
12. Urban Planning
13. Robotics
14. Marine Technology
15. Sensors & Sensor Technology

These are only the main categories & there are plenty of subcategories under each of these categories as well which you have to keep in your mind so Read More.

We frequently asked questions like what professions fall under the TAL category. Well, there are plenty of professions that fall under the TAL category. The leading professions that fall under the TAL category are nuclear scientists, data scientists, and rocket technology to name a few. However, there are a handful of professions that fall under the TAL category, you can check the above-provided categories.

The US government has made a list of professions in the technology, nuclear, and computing fields that it thinks can have military applications like weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles, and other high-tech technologies. So, when the VISA officer sees an application in the field of the above-provided category, he uses a special protocol. This special protocol also known as the US Visa Mantis Check, comes with additional checks. The work is assigned to the national agencies responsible for law enforcement, which run checks on you through various means, which can cause a delay in the application or the rejection of your application depending upon the scenario.

The technology alert list is there for a specific reason, which is to restrict the transfer of technologies that can have problems for the peace of the world, more specifically, US technology export policies. These include weapons of mass destruction (nuclear weapons), ballistic missiles, and other high-end advanced weapons. The government of the USA wants to ensure there is a minimum spread of knowledge in the categories or the transfer of goods, therefore, they have placed this special protocol in which they have strict checks on personal details.

By now, you must be thinking about the implications of the TAL that you may face if you are put in the VISA category of the TAL. If the visa officer flags you for the TAL category, the security agencies will ruin your visa with multiple checks for any bad history. If there is even the slightest doubt about you, your visa will be rejected. Even if your case is strong enough, and there are no red flags, you can still face delayed time due to the security checks.

So, when you are applying for a VISA that falls under the TAL category, you have to understand these points, as you can face delayed time or even rejection.

What to Do If Flagged Under TAL?

Well, there isn’t much you can do in case you are flagged under the TAL category, apart from providing all the supporting documents beforehand, or when asked for. By providing all the supporting documents, you can make the decision easier, and reduce the risks of rejected VISA.

Therefore, it is recommended to provide all the supported documents that you think can be useful for your case, even if the authorities did not ask for them.

Technology Alert List or TAL is a  US Visa security check or high-tech visa scrutiny developed by the US federal government that raises flags on individuals seeking employment and education in specific fields to restrict the knowledge about weapons of mass destruction and US-held technologies. This guide is issued to the VISA officers who raise flags who see applications in the provided departments, hence, putting delay and added scrutiny in the process. Therefore, when you are applying for the TAL category, you have to keep these things in mind so that you can face delayed VISA application and in some cases rejection. You can tell us more about the TAL category in the comments section below, we would love to hear from you.