Choose your employer well
Now generally, working as a translator won’t really get you into too much bother; ok, so you might have to travel a bit and perhaps put up with waiting around in Courts etc for long periods, but that’s usually as far as it goes.
That is, of course, unless you happen to be one of the local interpreters that work for the British and US forces in Iraq. On an average day these interpreters accompany military patrols on missions into hazardous areas and after their work is done they still remain in great danger from hostile elements that see them as collaborators.
You might think then, that the rewards for this type of work would outweigh the risks involved and you would be mostly right…as long as you work for the US Forces.
At the end of a period of duty, US employed interpreters are granted residence and work permits for the United States, i.e. the opportunity for a fresh start. Interpreters for our own Forces, however, have to apply for residence through the same channels as every other immigrant; in the meanwhile, they have to stay in Iraq facing immense danger until the immigration process has run its course.
It is always good advice to do your own research and choose your employer well, before commencing a new contract…who do you think that Iraqi interpreters are going to choose to work for from now on?