(a) A limited appointment in the Service, including an appointment of an individual who is an employee of an agency, may not exceed 5 years in duration and, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), may not be extended or renewed. A limited appointment in the Service which is limited by its terms to a period of one year or less is a temporary appointment.

Terms Used In 22 USC 3949

  • agency: means an agency as defined in section 552(e) 1 of title 5. See 22 USC 3902
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Foreign Service: means the Foreign Service of the United States. See 22 USC 3902
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of State, except that (subject to section 3921 of this title) with reference to the exercise of functions under this Act with respect to any agency authorized by law to utilize the Foreign Service personnel system, such term means the head of that agency. See 22 USC 3902

(b) A limited appointment may be extended for continued service—

(1) as a consular agent;

(2) in accordance with section 3951(a) of this title;

(3) as a career candidate, if—

(A) continued service is determined appropriate to remedy a matter that would be cognizable as a grievance under subchapter XI; or

(B) the individual is serving in the uniformed services (as defined in section 4303 of title 38) and the limited appointment expires in the course of such service;


(4) as a career employee in another Federal personnel system serving in a Foreign Service position on detail from another agency;

(5) as a foreign national employee;

(6) in exceptional circumstances if the Secretary determines the needs of the Service require the extension of—

(A) a limited noncareer appointment for a period not to exceed 1 year; or

(B) a limited appointment of a career candidate for the minimum time needed to resolve a grievance, claim, investigation, or complaint not otherwise provided for in this section.


(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) noncareer employees who have served for 5 consecutive years under a limited appointment under this section may be reappointed to a subsequent noncareer limited appointment if there is at least a 1-year break in service before such new appointment.

(2) The Secretary may waive the 1-year break requirement under paragraph (1) in cases of special need.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Subchapter III Contents