{"data":{"id":"us/22-u.s.c.-3949","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"22 U.S.C. § 3949","heading":"Limited appointments","body":"(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. (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.","path":["Title 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE","CHAPTER 52—FOREIGN SERVICE"],"source_url":"https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/103/xml_usc22@119-103.zip","current_through":"Public Law 119-103 (09/02/2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-10T05:57:55Z","sha256":"3a3c5a5b820549c948f4f00f50319df309677843f2f93903652b2fbcf85a4f7d","source_id":"us","stale":false,"prev":"us/22-u.s.c.-3948","next":"us/22-u.s.c.-3950"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}