Steve

Hope someone has information on this:

One of our contract employees, working on behalf of the US government,
but employed by a private contractor, told us his "green card" is
about to expire. This person was hired about a year ago and at that
time had a valid "green card." It is unknown to us if he has a
resident alien card or simply a work visa.

He currently is receiving US dollars in salary and is still on the
payroll, and working. Work location is in foreign country, not US.

My question is:

Can he continue work if he is outside the USA yet working as govt.
contractor with expired documents? If not, can he stay if his salary
is converted to local host country currency?

Any laws/regs to cite for this?

Thanks

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 06:32:50 -0800, Steve wrote:

    > Hope someone has information on this:
    >
    > One of our contract employees, working on behalf of the US government,
    > but employed by a private contractor, told us his "green card" is about
    > to expire. This person was hired about a year ago and at that time had
    > a valid "green card." It is unknown to us if he has a resident alien
    > card or simply a work visa.

The term "green card" typically refers to specifically a resident alien
card. It is not technically a legal term, but I have never heard it used
in any other meaning. Legally, he would also be referred to as a "legal
permanent resident".

In fact, there is no such thing as a "work visa" - there are many types of
non-immigrant status (a more accurate term for what is commonly called a
"visa"), and some of them do allow working, but there is no single
category that could be considered a "work visa". Plus, you say below that
he is physically outside the USA. People outside the USA may have a
resident alien card/green card, but they would not ever have a
non-immigrant status.

So from the statement you made, it appears that he indeed is a legal
permanent resident.

Legal permanent resident, quite simply, means that this person has the
right to reside in the USA permanently (and engage in most activities that
US citizens can engage in, except for voting and a few others reserved
only for citizens).

It is important to realize that legal permanent residents can lose that
status for a number of reasons. One of the most common reasons for losing
it is ceasing to reside in the USA. That seems to be his problem. The
rules for when CIS decides that somebody ceases to reside in the USA are
complex and very much depend on circumstances, but a general rule of thumb
is that it becomes somewhat more difficult to maintain your Green Card
after an absence of six months, and, without careful preparation, nearly
impossible to maintain it after one year.

    > He currently is receiving US dollars in salary and is still on the
    > payroll, and working. Work location is in foreign country, not US.

That would explain it. Somebody with a Green Card is, by law, required to
reside in the United States, and travel out of the country only for short
temporary trips. What he seems to be telling you is that not his Green
Card will "expire" but rather that his stay out of the US will be too
long, and he would not qualify to return to the USA.

To solve this, he needs to do a couple of things. First and foremost, he
absolutely must have a US home to return to - make sure he has a US bank
account, rents an apartment, and ideally have his family stay behind in
the USA.

Second, you need to make sure that no individual stay outside the USA is
longer than 12 months. As a matter of fact, I would strongly recommend
that you have him travel back to the USA every couple of weeks in the
future. Although the law does not absolutely require this, it would help
reinforce the assertion that he still resides in the USA.

Third, he can apply for a reentry permit on his next trip to the USA. A
reentry permit can help convince an immigration officer that the person
indeed still resides in the USA. With a reentry permit, it is relatively
safe to live outside the USA without losing a Green Card for at least two
years, and quite possibly for three or more depending on how quickly it
gets issued (it usually takes over a year, but fortunately it is OK to
leave the USA as soon as you applied).

You may also want to visit the Green Card section on my FAQ site at
http://www.kkeane.com.

Finally, since he is a US government contractor, you may want to consult
with an immigration lawyer about whether he may qualify for immediate
naturalization. As a US citizen, he can reside outside the USA for as long
as he wants.

    > My question is:
    >
    > Can he continue work if he is outside the USA yet working as govt.
    > contractor with expired documents? If not, can he stay if his salary is
    > converted to local host country currency?

As far as immigration law is concerned, there is no problem. People who
are outside the USA are never subject to immigration law and do not need
any US work authorization of any kind.

But, as I explained above, he may indeed lose his right to return to the
USA.

The question of whether or not he can work as a government contractor
would be related to other laws that I know nothing about.

And it does not matter in which currency he is being paid.