Au Pairs and Domestic Workers
I want to expose my children to another culture and have thought about having an au pair live with our family. What do I need to know about bringing an au pair to the United States?
The Department of State regulates the Au Pair Program in the United States. Under the program, foreign nationals live with an American host family and participate directly in the home life of the host family for up to 12 months. All au pair participants provide child-care services to the host family and attend a U.S. post-secondary educational institution. Au pair participants can provide no more than 10 hours of child-care services a day, up to 45 hours per week, and must pursue at least 6 semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent during their year of program participation. The host family is required to pay up to $500 toward the cost of the au pair's academic course work.
The Department of States has also created the EduCare program. Under this program, au pairs provide up to 30 hours of child-care services each week and must pursue at least 12 semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent during their year of program participation.
Foreign nationals entering the program must be between the ages of 18 and 26. The Fair Labor Standards Act directs the pay of au pairs. Participants must be proficient in spoken English.
Look in the phone book or online for au pair placement organizations in your area. The sponsoring organization will handle the visa paperwork for the au pair. He or she generally enters the country on an exchange visitor visa, referred to as a "J-1" visa.
I have two children under the age of three. Can I hire an au pair?
An au pair cannot be placed with a family with an infant less than 3 months old unless a parent or other responsible adult is at home. Au pairs must have at least 200 hours of documented infant child-care experience to be placed in homes with children less than 2 years of age.
We have a special needs child. Can we hire an au pair?
Families with a special needs child can only hire an au pair who has specifically identified prior experience, skill or training in caring for special needs children. The host family must review and acknowledge the stated prior experience, skills or training in writing.
Who is the sponsor: the host family or the organization that coordinates the au pair's placement?
The placing organization is considered the sponsor. Sponsors must screen and select both host families and prospective au pairs according to Department of State regulations. The Department can designate programs that meet the government regulations. The organization is then charged as the sponsor with complying with all regulations concerning au pairs. This includes providing the au pair with child development and safety training before placement with a host family.
Our au pair has become a part of our family. Can she stay past the 12 months as required under her visa?
In the past, the answer has been no-the au pair had to return home at the end of the 12 months. But in 2004, the Department of State announced a pilot program in which an au pair's sponsoring organization may request an extension beyond the original 12 months. The Au Pair Pilot Extension program will operate as a pilot of an additional 2 years beginning Feb. 5, 2005, through Feb. 4, 2007. On approval, sponsoring organizations may issue a Form DS-2019 to au pairs intending to extend their participation for an additional 6, 9 or 12 months. If the pilot program is deemed successful, the Department of State will amend the Exchange Visitor Program regulations to make it permanent.
To gain the extension, the sponsoring organization must make the request, not the host family.
CAUTION: Generally, you do not have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes for your au pair. Au pairs enter the country as a "J-1" nonimmigrant. But some au pairs that have been in the United States previously on a nonimmigrant visa may be considered a resident alien during their current stay as an au pair. In this situation, they would be subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes if their salary exceeds a certain dollar amount. The host family would then need to apply for an Employer Identification Number and file a Form W-2. The sponsoring organization should have this information for you and should be able to help with any necessary paperwork.
I am working in the United States as an au pair. Do I have to pay income tax?
Since au pair wages are part of your gross income, you must file a U.S. individual income tax return. Your sponsoring organization should have all the current information and forms needed to correctly file an income tax return as a resident alien.
I need someone to help with my children and the housework. My neighbor says she knows of a woman from Jamaica who could work and live in my home. Is this legal?
Maybe. You should make sure that she has a valid temporary work visa. If not, you would be hiring an illegal alien in violation of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. If she does have a valid temporary visa, you may want to try to help her apply for a green card, as she may have to leave the country when her temporary visa expires. The wait for this kind of green card can take years, though, as only 5,000 visas are granted each year for unskilled labor.