Au pair in America
Official Au Pair in America Program Information
There is an official program to be an au pair in America (also known as The United States of America or USA), which allows young people to work for a minimum of 12 months. There are eligibility requirements and certain conditions you must meet in order to work as an au pair in America. Above all, it is necessary to obtain a J-1 visa, which is done so through one of the government designated sponsor organisations. Only citizens of countries with an au pair partner organisation are eligible to apply for the J-1 visa. Applicants must have an interview with the chosen au pair agency before initialting the J1 visa application. Do not send any money prior to this interview or to anyone not listed as an official designated sponsor organisation.
We recommend finding a host family on TheBestAupair website, then together with the host family, decide on an agency to proceed with. Choosing a local agency to the host family is advisable. Remember to ask the agency for a discount for them not having to find a family / au pair match for you. Once you have chosen your agency, we recommend you request a formal au pair in America contract for both the host family and au pair to agree on and sign.
EduCare is an au pair in America program for those families who have school aged children and require before and after school care. Au pairs may only be placed with families who have pre-school aged children if alternate full-time care arrangments have been made for the pre-school aged children.This program requires the au pair in America to work no more than 30 hours per week and no more than 10 hours per day for a weekly wage of $146.81. The host family is required to pay up to $1,000 towards the cost of the au pair's required minimum 12 hours of academic credit