J-1 Visa: Au Pair Program

Hello!

Welcome back to J-1 Visa Consulting, where every week we provide helpful resources for everything J-1 Visa.

In our fourth week post and upcoming weeks, I will review all the 15 different J-1 Visa programs.

Also, check out our Youtube video for additional content!

About The Program

• • The Au Pair Work Travel Program allows foreign nationals to live with an American family for a minimum of 12 months while providing childcare and attending at least 6 hours of academic credit at a U.S. college or university.
  • This position requires up to 10 hours a day or 45 hours a week of childcare.
  • Foreign nationals must go through a designated sponsor. Au Pairs can’t participate in the program on a tourist Visa or an ESTA.

Host Family Requirements:

• • Pay up to $500 towards the cost of the au pair’s required coursework
  • Provide a suitable private room
  • Pay a weekly stipend based on the program selected
  • Give the au pair at least one full weekend off each month 
    • • A weekend is defined as (Friday Evening – Monday Morning)
  • Provide a minimum of 2 weeks paid vacation for each 12-month exchange term
  • Must include the au pair whenever possible in family meals, events, outings, and holidays.

Important Information

• Two Year Rule
  • If you participate in a trainee program, you must wait 2 years to participate in another program.
• Program Extensions
  • Programs can be extended for 6, 9, 0r 12 months
• Extra Information
  • Au Pairs cannot be placed in homes with infants less than 3 months unless a parent or other responsible adult is in the home.
  • In homes with children under 2 years of age, the au pair must have at least 200 hours of documented infant childcare experience.
  • Au Pairs can’t be placed in the home of relatives.
  • Au Pairs can’t be placed in homes of special needs children unless the au pair has identified specific training for the care of special needs children and the family reviews the experience and approves the placement.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• • Be proficient in English
  • Be between 18 and 26 years old
  • Be in good physical health
    • With required documentation 
  • Must have a secondary school education
  • Must have received a job offer from a family
  • Must have previous childcare experience
  • Must have an international driver’s license
  • Successfully pass a background check and a personality profile
  • Cannot have previously been an Au Pair in the U.S.

If you need proof of English proficiency, we would recommend TEFL (one of the most widely accepted exams worldwide.)

CLICK HERE – TEFL

Additional Information

Program dates vary by country, but students must have program dates within their academic calendar break. You must secure your housing before you arrive in the U.S. (Most sponsors help with this). The better your English, the better job opportunities you will have.

J-1 Visa Essentials

• • You must be a foreign national with supporting documentation of education and/or relevant work experience
  • You must show proof of financial means to support yourself while in the U.S.
  • You must not show immigrant intent
  • You must not displace an American worker

I hope this article helped provided insight into the Au Pair Program and the steps necessary. If you have any need for a one on one consultation, book through our website below.

Book Consultation

See you next week!