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We are a designated agency. You may check our designation with the US Department of State.
An au pair is a young adult who lives with a host family and provides childcare
for that family. Au pairs enter the United States legally on J-1 visas,
and stay for one year. There is a one-time option to extend an au pair's
stay in the US for up to a year.
The term "au pair" means "on par", and this reflects the ideals of the
program. The best way to have the most valuable cultural experience is to
treat your au pair as a member of your family. You will then have a
chance to experience another culture in depth. Your children will have a
chance to learn about people in other nations, and about how they view the
world. Your children will learn the basics of another language --
or if you choose an English speaking au pair, they will learn new words,
and maybe be able to imitate another accent. They will make a friend
they will remember for the rest of their lives. All these things will
prepare them from an early age for a world in which cross-cultural competence
is essential to success. That is, hiring an au pair is an excellent
long-term investment in your child's future.
Of course, your au pair will also be your employee. Your au pair's immigration
status will allow them to work only for you. Because of the nature of the au
pair relationship, au pairs are generally more flexible than other childcare
options -- however, au pairs must be paid at least $176.85 per week, and must
not work more than 45 hours per week. As with any employee, prescreening
is important, and we help you a lot here. We verify that they have no
police record, that they are proficient in English, and that they are
physically well. We perform a psychometric test and interview them
in-person overseas, and we check references that are given are accurate.
We reject au pair candidates often but that said, we don't force you to take
any specific au pair. We have no interest in forcing a bad match on your
family, because Expert AuPair is owned by a Florida family, and we understand
the disruptions that bad childcare can cause.
As the cost of daycare and nannies continue to grow, the au pair option is
becoming a good short-term financial decision as well. The total cost to
each host family of our program is around $270 per week, and in many cases part
of this cost is tax-deductible.
We are a designated agency. You may check our designation with the US Department of State.
What is the law?
The U.S. au pair program is carefully regulated by the Department of State. A
full listing of the law can be found at 22 CFR 62, linked
here.
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