Airline Pilot Central Forums

In a thread where Air Mekong is being discussed, an interesting point has been brought up regarding American Expatriates and US Residency.

FedEx is requiring an applicant's past five years to be spent as a US Resident per US Mail Laws.

Quote:

Candidates for jobs involving handling or access to U.S. mail cannot be considered for employment if they have resided outside the U.S., Guam or Puerto Rico for more than (6) six months during the last (5) years prior to today's date, other than the following verifiable exceptions: active duty in the U.S. Uniformed Service; trailing spouse or dependent of someone working for the U.S. government (military or civilian); missionary; student attending school in a foreign country; Peace Corps participant; employee of a U.S. based employer/company or other extraordinary circumstances.

The questions at hand are:

Can one maintain US Residency while flying Expatria?
Are Airline Pilots considered to "have access to" or "handle" US Mail
If so, can Pilots flying Expatria maintain US Residency?
Does this also extend to other carriers who carry Mail, PRIMail, or BYPASS Mail?
Does flying Expatria constitute an "extraordinary circumstance"?