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APPENDIX I: VISA ISSUANCE REQUIREMENTS

B-1 Domestic Workers

State Department Foreign Affairs Manual

Requirements for employing a B-1 domestic worker:
· The employer is a U.S. citizen who has a permanent home or is stationed abroad and is temporarily visiting the United States and who employed the domestic worker prior to the U.S. visit; or
· The employer is a U.S. citizen subject to frequent international transfers lasting two years or more temporarily assigned to the United States for no more than four years and the domestic worker has a residence abroad which she has no intention of abandoning, has worked as a domestic worker for at least one year, and has been employed abroad by the U.S. citizen as a domestic worker for at least six months or the U.S. citizen can show that she regularly employed a domestic worker abroad; or
· The employer is a nonimmigrant in the United States on a B, E, F, H, I, J, L, or M visa and the domestic worker has a residence abroad which she has no intention of abandoning, has worked as a domestic worker for at least one year, and has been employed abroad by the nonimmigrant for at least one year or the nonimmigrant can show that she regularly employed a domestic worker abroad.

      Mandatory employment contract terms:

      When the Employer is a U.S. Citizen Visiting the United States:

· No employment contract is required.

      When the Employer is a Nonimmigrant:

The contract must include statements that:

· The employer will be the sole provider of employment;
· The worker will receive minimum or prevailing wage, whichever is greater; and
· The employer will provide free room and board.

      When the Employer is a U.S. Citizen Assigned to the United States:

The contract must include the statements required when the employer is a nonimmigrant plus statements that:
· The employer will provide airfare for the worker to and from the United States;
· The worker will receive any other benefits normally required for U.S. domestic workers in the area of employment; and
· The parties will provide two weeks notice before terminating the contract.

A-3 and G-5 Domestic Workers

Immigration and Nationality Act

      Requirements for employing an A-3 domestic worker:

· The employer is an ambassador, public minister, career diplomatic or consular officer accredited by a foreign government and accepted by the United States or a member of the employer's immediate family.

      Requirements for employing a G-5 domestic worker:

· The employer is a designated principal resident representative of a foreign government to an international organization or an accredited resident member of that representative's staff; an accredited representative of a foreign government to an international organization; an officer or employee of an international organization; or a member of the employer's immediate family.

State Department Foreign Affairs Manual

Mandatory employment contract terms:

The contract must include statements that:

· The worker will receive state or federal minimum wage or the prevailing wage, whichever is greater, including reasonable deductions for room and board;
· The worker will not accept other employment while working for the employer;
· The employer will not withhold the worker's passport; and
· The worker cannot be required to remain on the premises after work hours without additional compensation.

State Department Circular Diplomatic Notes

Recommended employment contract terms:

Each party should receive a copy of the contract, which should include the following statements:

· A description of duties;
· The normal daily and weekly working hours;
· That the worker will receive a minimum of one full day off per week;
· Whether the worker will receive paid holidays, sick days, or vacations days;
· That wages will be paid either weekly or biweekly and whether reasonable deductions for room and board will be taken; and
· That the employer will pay for the worker's travel to and from the United States.

Mandatory employment contract terms:
The contract must be in English and, if the worker does not understand English, in a language she understands, meet the FAM requirements, and include a statement that:
· The visa, a copy of the contract, and other personal property of the domestic worker will not be withheld by the employer for any reason.

Mandatory record-keeping requirements:
The employer must maintain the following records during employment plus three years:
· The worker's full name, date and place of birth, sex, and occupation;
· The worker's home address and telephone number in the United States;
· A record of hours worked daily and weekly; and
· A copy of a check or dated receipt for each pay period, including deductions made.271

International Organizations

      Human Rights Watch has indicated with an asterisk (_) the employment contract, record-keeping, and internal requirements that exceed FAM requirements and circular diplomatic notes requirements and recommendations that we consider examples of "best practices."

World Bank and International Monetary Fund Codes of Conduct

Mandatory employment contract terms:
The contract must meet the FAM requirements and circular diplomatic notes requirements and recommendations and include the following statements, in relevant part, governing employment conditions:
_ That wages will be paid by check, either weekly or biweekly;
· That copies of pay records will be made available without charge to the worker;
· That work over forty hours per week will be paid as overtime where required by law;
· Whether the worker is required to live with the employer and, if so, that deductions for room and board shall not exceed $100 per week;
_ That three meals a day will be provided for a live-in domestic worker and at what cost;
· Whether the worker will be provided health insurance and, if so, at what cost;
· Whether the worker will be provided with transportation to and from the United States;
· Whether the worker will be charged any costs on a regular basis and, if so, the amount;
· That the contract may be terminated by either party for cause or, if the employment relationship is less than one-year old, with one month's notice or pay; and
_ That the domestic worker has the right to complain regarding her treatment to the World Bank's or the IMF's Ethics Officers and that the employer may not interfere with or retaliate against the worker for making such a complaint.

Mandatory record-keeping requirements:
The employer must maintain the following records during employment plus six years:
· Most documents required by circular diplomatic notes;272 and
_ A copy of the employment contract;
_ Proof of tax payments and any required unemployment or workers' compensation insurance;
_ Copies of the worker's visa, I-94 entry form, and other proof of G-5 status; and
· A copy of the health insurance policy, if provided, and paid premiums.

      United Nations Secretariat

      Internal requirements for employing a G-5 domestic worker:

· The worker must not be related to the U.N. staff member or the member's family or to another U.N. staff member;

· The worker must have previous experience in domestic service and provide letters of recommendation from previous employers;
· The worker must come from the same cultural background as the staff member or have "several years" of domestic service with the staff member's household;
_ The staff member must agree to provide private accommodation for the worker in the household;
_ The staff member must have demonstrated ability to pay required wages, social security, and health care expenses; and
_ The staff member must agree to provide a wage statement to the worker with each payment, listing hours worked, wages paid, and deductions taken.

      Mandatory employment contract requirements:

Contracts must "meet the conditions established by the U.S. government" and include the following statements, in relevant part, governing employment conditions:
· Salary to be received and that the salary will be paid bi-weekly;
_ That the worker shall normally work eight hour days, five days a week;
_ That any time worked over forty-four hours per week is to be considered overtime and to be paid at one and one half times the hourly rate;273
_ That the worker shall have two full days off per week;
_ That the worker shall be free to leave the employer's premises at all times other than regular or overtime working hours;
_ That the worker shall get two weeks of paid vacation annually;
_ That the employer shall pay the worker's medical insurance and reasonable expenses;
_ That the employer may deduct no more than $40 per week for room and board;274
· That the employer will pay for the worker's travel to and from the United States;
· That the worker's duties shall be "normal domestic work," including child care;
_ That either party may terminate the contract with one month notice; and
_ That the employer should assist the employee in filing the required tax forms.

      Mandatory record-keeping requirements:

The employer must maintain the following records during employment plus three years:

· All documents required by circular diplomatic notes; and
_ A record of all social security payments made for the worker; and
_ A record of all health insurance payments made for the worker.275

Organization of American States

      Mandatory employment contract terms:

The contract must include the following statements:
_ That the domestic worker will work forty hours a week five days a week with occasional overtime;
· The regular and overtime wages to be earned by the worker;
· A description of duties;
_ That the worker may "come and go as she pleases" outside of working hours;
· That the worker must live with the employer;
· That the employer will pay for the worker's travel to and from the United States;
· Whether the employer will take deductions for food, lodging, and health insurance and, if so, how much;276 and
· The prior noticed required for contract termination.

271 These record-keeping requirements are virtually identical to those already required of employers by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 29 C.F.R. _ 516.2, 516.5, 516.27.

272 Unlike the circular diplomatic notes, the Code of Conduct does not explicitly require record of a worker's place of birth, sex, occupation, weekly-in addition to daily-hours worked, and deductions taken.

273 New York law requires live-in domestic workers to be paid over-time for work over forty hours per week.

274 The U.N. Standard Contract for Household Employees Under G-5 Visa explains, "This figure is based on local regulations pertaining to employment of residential domestic workers." Under the FLSA, employers providing lodging and three meals a day five days a week could deduct approximately $77 per week.

275 Mandatory employer submission of records to the U.N. Visa Committee is discussed in the text.

276 The OAS requires employers to ensure that workers have health insurance but allows employers to deduct the cost of insurance from workers' wages.

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