NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
Personal Employees of Diplomats and Government Officials
If you are a government official or employee of an international organization and you are in A or G status in the U.S., your personal employee may be eligible for an A-3 or G-5 visa. If you are a legal permanent resident, your personal employee is not entitled to an A-3 or G-5 visa.
In order to be eligible for an A-3 or G-5 visa, your personal employee must be traveling to the U.S. to perform a specific job and must be capable of performing this job. Also, you must be entering into a true employee/employer relationship with this person.
U.S. law requires that you pay your personal employee a fair wage by U.S. standards. Under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all full-time, live-in domestic employees must be paid the prevailing or minimum wage per hour under Federal law, and in the jurisdiction which the domestic will be employed, for all hours on duty. Under prevailing practice, live-in domestics receive free room and board in addition to their salary. Although you are not required to pay for medical insurance, you are responsible for ensuring that your employee does not become a public charge while in your employ.
In addition to regular documents required for an A or G visa, you must also submit a contract (in both English and a language understood by your employee) to demonstrate that your employee will receive a fair wage, and that your employee understands his or her duties and rights regarding salary and working conditions. The contract should stipulate the number of hours to be worked by your employee per week, the rate of pay (which must meet the state minimum wage for every hour worked), the number of authorized holidays, vacation, and sick leave days per year, and the regular day(s) off each week. Under Federal law, the rate of overtime pay need not exceed the regular hourly rate if your employee resides in your home, but state law governing overtime rate also applies and must be checked. If your employee does not reside with you, overtime for hours in excess of 40 hours per week must be paid at the rate of time and a half.
The William Wilberforce trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, implemented in June of 2009 requires that all employment agreements include the employer’s agreement “to abide by all Federal, State, and local laws in the United States,” and not to withhold the passport, the employment contract, or other personal property of the employee. It is also advisable that the contract state that the employer will not prohibit your employee from leaving the premises when s/he is not on duty.
A and G applicants are not required to have a foreign residence which they have no intention of abandoning.
You must pay your employee’s initial travel expenses to the U.S., and subsequently to either your onward assignment or to the employee’s country of normal residence at the termination of your assignment.
