The term itself is useful (someone who is living in another country but intends to return) and distinct from immigrants (someone who permanently moves to another country, but it is constantly misused. Migrants are a subset of expats who move because of work, although the line gets blurry because almost all expats have to work abroad.
So a Mexican farm worker who spends most of the year in California but goes home to Mexico in the winter is an expat, but he usually won’t receive that label because of racism.
The term itself is useful (someone who is living in another country but intends to return) and distinct from immigrants (someone who permanently moves to another country, but it is constantly misused. Migrants are a subset of expats who move because of work, although the line gets blurry because almost all expats have to work abroad.
So a Mexican farm worker who spends most of the year in California but goes home to Mexico in the winter is an expat, but he usually won’t receive that label because of racism.