DOS Guidance May Make It Harder for G-4s to Sponsor G-5 Personal Employees

In a recent cable to consular officers, the Department of State reviewed and amended its guidance regarding minimum wage requirements and presumption of ineligibility for visa issuance for A-3, C-3, and G-5 attendants, servants, and personal employees. Most significantly, DOS directs that consular officers must presume that an applicant is not eligible for a visa if the employer is not the principal officer or deputy principal officer or does not carry the diplomatic rank of minister or higher.  The guidance further states that employers who are officers and employees of international organizations (G-4) “rarely hold the rank of minister or higher and, therefore, their compensation is unlikely to be sufficient to cover the cost of employing a personal employee.”  How this plays out is yet to be seen, but clearly the intent is that G-4 employers’ financial wherewithal will be closely scrutinized.