I’ve had a few law grads who have had problems getting answers when calling Direct loans whether their jobs would qualify for the 10 year public service loan forgiveness. Some of these jobs include:U.N., World Bank Group (Including IFC), the U.S. Foreign Service, and International N.G.O.s like Transparency International.

I’m hoping you might have some more insight since they can’t seem to get a straight answer when calling the Government.

Thanks!

Hey, shunt.  Sorry, I missed this post for a few days somehow.

My opinion is that the answer should turn on the employer, rather than the location of the employment.  My interpretation is that a US based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with oversees offices should qualify.  So should work oversees for a US government, like federal military employment.  Some international positions may fit into the narrow additional category of “public interest organizations”, but only if they perform specific listed activities and are not organized for profit, and not a labor union, a partisan political organization, or an organization engaged in religious activities. 

I’m not aware of any language in the statute or regulations designed to exclude foreign employment. One argument is that the regulations explicitly exclude certain employment (like contract government work, labor unions, etc.) and if they meant to exclude foreign employment they should have said so.  Peace Corps service is specifically included (which is certainly not taking place in the US).

The good news is that there will finally be a method for borrowers to request a determination from the Dept of Ed.  There is a DRAFT employment certification form that, once final, you can have certified by your employer and processed by the Dept of Ed.  The instructions ask that your employer submit their federally assigned Employer ID #, which presumably your foreign employer won’t have, so we’ll have to see what happens with that.