MS 219, Volunteer and Trainee Home-of-Record
Table of Contents
1.0 Purpose
2.0 Applicability
3.0 Policy
4.0 Procedures
4.1 Establishment of Home-of-Record
Each Trainee is required to establish a Home-of-Record upon entry into Peace Corps service. The Home-of-Record is the city and state or country the Trainee or Volunteer determines to be his or her place of permanent residence.Because the Home-of-Record is the place to which termination travel will be authorized, a Trainee (or incoming Crisis Corps Volunteer) should consider this location carefully before recording it on the Trainee Registration Form PC-1487.The Trainee Registration Form is filled out and returned to Peace Corps during the pre-departure orientation. The information is entered into the Human Resources Management System (HRMS) module of the Odyssey Financial Management System.
4.2 Request for Change in Home-of-Record
A V/T's request for a Home- of-Record change shall include:(a) The V/T's full name;(b) The V/T's social security number;(c) The Country of Assignment;(d) The address and telephone number of the Old Home-of-Record;(e) The address and telephone number of the New Home-of-Record;(f) The reason for the change; and(g) The Country Director's signature and date of signature.4.3 CD Approval or Denial of Request
A Volunteer's request for a Home-of-Record change shall be submitted to the Country Director for approval. The request must be submitted no later than 75 days in advance of the Volunteer's scheduled departure date. Requests that lack detailed reasons or sufficient information for verification will be denied but may be re-submitted after correction. Requests may be submitted by mail, fax, or e-mail. If a request is approved, the request shall be forwarded to VPS for a final decision.
4.4 Criteria for Change of Home-of-Record
Changes will normally be authorized only when a Request for Change of Home-of-Record has been submitted and one of the following conditions has been met:
(a) A Volunteer who has married another Volunteer during the course of their Peace Corps service wants to return to the Home-of-Record of the spouse. Requests for a change of Home-of-Record under this condition must be accompanied by verification from the Country Director of the marriage;
(b) A Volunteer who has separated from or divorced another Volunteer during the course of his or her Peace Corps service wants to return to a location other than that of the spouse. Requests for a change of Home-of-Record under this condition must be accompanied by verification from the Country Director of the divorce or separation;
(c) The person, spouse, parent, sibling or child whose residence was designated as the permanent residence by the Volunteer before entering the Peace Corps has moved to a different U. S. address;
(d) Travel to the new Home-of-Record would cost less than, or the same as, travel to the originally declared Home-of-Record;
(e) The person, spouse, parent, sibling, or child whose residence was designated as the permanent residence by the Volunteer before entering the Peace Corps has moved outside the United States and its territories and possessions. In such cases the Volunteer may receive transportation to the most appropriate U. S. port-of-exit for the foreign country to which that individual has moved or transportation to the foreign country, whichever is less;
(f) The Volunteer identified the address of a parent, sibling, child, or other person as the Home-of-Record, but actually resided at and was provided original transportation, at Peace Corps' expense, from another location. The Volunteer now wishes to return to that original point of departure;
(g) The only surviving parent, spouse, sibling, or child who resided at the Volunteer's Home-of-Record dies;
(h) There is an authorized emergency leave in conjunction with either an advance completion of service or early termination and the location of the emergency leave is different from the originally listed Home-of-Record; or
(i) A Volunteer claims that the original Home-of-Record was only chosen as a place of contact. Requests for a change of Home-of-Record under this condition must be accompanied by proof of prior residence, such as a copy of tax forms, a driver's license, or a voter registration card.
4.5 Final Decision
Upon receipt of a request approved by the Country Director, VPS will make a decision to authorize the change or not. If the change is authorized, VPS will update the Volunteer/Trainee's records and notify the Country Director. The Post will also be notified if the change is denied.
4.6 Extraordinary Requests and Exemptions for Crisis Corps
Volunteers or Trainees may request a Home-of-Record change in extraordinary or unusual circumstances not listed above, including situations where it is impossible to comply with the 75 day advance notice required in Paragraph 4.3. Volunteers or Trainees must provide VPS with a written explanation of the unusual or extraordinary circumstances. Because it is rarely possible for Crisis Corps Volunteers to comply with the 75 day requirement, they shall be exempt from the rule.
Crisis Corps Volunteers are authorized returned travel for destinations other than the originally listed Home-of-Record provided the transportation cost is equal to or less than the cost of returning to the Home-of-Record. Because Crisis Corps Volunteers are provided roundtrip tickets, the cost is determined prior to departure.