22 U.S.C. § 3949 — Limited appointments

**(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](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section3951/a&num=0&edition=prelim); (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](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title38-section4303&num=0&edition=prelim)) 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.