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It’s important that no one takes that link to mean that they can bring samples in without declaring them. That exempts them from needing a special import permit not from needing to be declared.
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<div>CBP clearly states in multiple places that all biological materials must be declared. </div>
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<div>"<span style="font-size: 16px; caret-color: rgb(8, 8, 8); color: rgb(8, 8, 8); font-family: "Source Sans Pro Web", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">All biological materials imported into the
United States must be documented, labeled, packaged, placarded, and declared in accordance with relevant international, federal, and state regulations. Importers are responsible for knowing and adhering to these regulations, and noncompliance with any regulation
may result in importation delays, civil or criminal penalties, and/or seizure of the biological materials."</span><br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage">
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<div>On Mar 31, 2025, at 10:26 AM, Jose Garcia Abreu <garciajr@icb.ufrj.br> wrote:</div>
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<p>Dear Carole and members of the Xenopus community</p>
<p>I feel the urge to briefly clarify a few points regarding the situation with Kseniia Petrova since I am part of the same research group, have been closely working with her over the past two years and feel in part morally responsible for what happened to
her.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>In fact it was me who was planning to go on that trip to France, but had to cancel the last moment. Kseniia had separately planned a personal trip to see her friends and visit several cultural events she anticipated for a long time as connoisseur of classical
music and art. It was a personal trip on her own dime. It was not unnatural for her to visit our French collaborators, but she was not on a work trip.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>On multiple occasions samples ent to our lab from France got lost and damaged, so we discussed in our group how to properly bring the samples in person. We identified the proper border regulations,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-173/subpart-A/section-173.4b*p-173.4b(b),__;Iw!!Dq0X2DkFhyF93HkjWTBQKhk!WnouLxiQp1_vtiG-kNi8R_T1Ys5edAuhJ1yiqfUoi_TOlQ16Ss6_0tPMaby0Zd6L0zCVrRiS7OmJYFQnf0OhsU9Et5Pt$">https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-173/subpart-A/section-173.4b#p-173.4b(b),</a>
which in our and Kseniia's reading suggest that formaldehyde fixed material, properly packaged does not need to be declared.</p>
<p>All of this is substantiated by documents and screenshots of conversations, which are now part of the legal record.</p>
<p>So to the best of my understanding, there was no violation of the border regulations, nor NIH or Harvard regulations.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>That does not change the fact that our colleague and friend is in detention and we appreciate all the help for her release and reinstatement.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Jose</p>
<p id="reply-intro">Em 2025-03-31 01:22, Carole LaBonne escreveu:</p>
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<div class="pre" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-family: monospace">Dear #Xenopus colleagues. I am writing to urge you to support one of our own. Ksneniia Petrova was sent to work in a lab in France on a tourist visa and instructed to bring back embryos
in her luggage without declaring them. She is a Russian national on a visa and was blocked from reentry at Logan and sent to a detention facility at a prison in Louisiana. None of this is her fault - others bare the blame for what she is suffering. Please
consider donating to this GoFundMe to support her. <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.linkedin.com/posts/william-v-trim-413ab0237_httpsgofundmed421b28f-this-is-our-friend-activity-7311063967060119553-Tml4/__;!!Dq0X2DkFhyF93HkjWTBQKhk!WnouLxiQp1_vtiG-kNi8R_T1Ys5edAuhJ1yiqfUoi_TOlQ16Ss6_0tPMaby0Zd6L0zCVrRiS7OmJYFQnf0Ohsc6asxOb$" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/william-v-trim-413ab0237_httpsgofundmed421b28f-this-is-our-friend-activity-7311063967060119553-Tml4/</a><br>
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<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.icb.ufrj.br/media/logo3.png__;!!Dq0X2DkFhyF93HkjWTBQKhk!WnouLxiQp1_vtiG-kNi8R_T1Ys5edAuhJ1yiqfUoi_TOlQ16Ss6_0tPMaby0Zd6L0zCVrRiS7OmJYFQnf0OhsXNjzXtn$"> <span id="cid:76209f42ab323b54d78b28f1e550f1fc@icb.ufrj.br"><76209f42.jpeg></span> </a></td>
<td style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; padding-left: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Jose Garcia Abreu, PhD</strong></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Full Professor</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Institute of Biomedical Sciences</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">CV: <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://lattes.cnpq.br/1716020620865231__;!!Dq0X2DkFhyF93HkjWTBQKhk!WnouLxiQp1_vtiG-kNi8R_T1Ys5edAuhJ1yiqfUoi_TOlQ16Ss6_0tPMaby0Zd6L0zCVrRiS7OmJYFQnf0OhsXqFqXY_$">
http://lattes.cnpq.br/1716020620865231</a></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">+55-21-97544-9697</span></td>
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