How to become an au pair in the USA?

How to become an au pair in the USA?
Au pair in the USA
Do you want to go abroad to learn English? Why not try the au pair experience and move to the United States? If you are between 18 and 26 years old, want to work with children and join an American host family for a long time, this job is for you! Find out below how to become an au pair in the USA and prepare for an unforgettable experience.

Why make an au pair in the USA?

Internationally, the United States is ranked among the top destinations for au pairs!

Becoming an au pair in the USA allows many young French women (but also some young French people) to gain paid professional experience abroad while improving their level of English. For them, this is the way to stay legally in the United States and in some cases, at the same time to study at an American university and have access to English classes.

Working as an Au Pair consists mainly of taking care of the children and the daily household chores of an American host family. The au pair lives in full immersion in this new host family for a period generally of 12 months. It is a real cultural exchange which allows him to speak English while familiarizing himself with the lifestyles of a new culture. Now is also a good time to take English lessons to improve your skills.

In return for her working hours, an au pair is fed, housed and given financial compensation every week.

Beyond improving the CV and improving the language level, the au pair stay is very rewarding, because it also offers those who live it the possibility of having free time to travel and make new friends.

Becoming an au pair in the USA: the conditions

Going as an au pair in the United States is accessible under certain conditions. Here are the main ones:

Be between 18 and 26 years old
Being a non-smoker
Be available for at least 12 months
Must have the baccalaureate
Have a driving license
Have a minimum of experience in childcare (babysitting, BAFA, etc.)
Have a clean criminal record
Have certain language skills (the au pair leaves to improve her English, she already has the basics of the language and aims to become bilingual)
It is important to know these conditions before applying and looking for an au pair family.

This stay in the United States can be the subject of a gap year, it requires the candidate to be available and to agree to carry out several types of missions: support and education of children, household chores, etc. work are imposed by the host families who is also responsible for the pocket money allocated to the au pair. As for the days off, the au pair benefits from two weeks of paid vacation per year and a whole weekend per month.

How to prepare for an au pair trip to the United States?

Like any move to a foreign country, going to the USA to become an au pair cannot be improvised. This stay abroad requires some preparation, here are a few steps:

Get closer to a specialized agency and find a host family:
Au pair agencies are placement agencies that take care of supporting candidates in their administrative procedures, finding them a host family, providing them with on-site follow-up or even training them as an au pair. .

The candidate must put together her application file and pass an interview with an au pair agency so that her profile can be offered to the families that match her.

Some families consider the au pair to be a real member of the family. The choice of the host family is therefore very important and will have a major influence on the au pair stay.

Apply for a J-1 visa:
Once the host family has been found, the contract validated and signed, the au pair can start the process to obtain the J-1 visa. To do this, she must apply for a visa at the United States Embassy in her country of origin.

This process must be motivated and justified by the reason why the au pair wishes to go to the United States. The placement agency plays the essential role of "sponsor", and guarantees to the American authorities the validity of the information and supporting documents that the au pair provides.

The conditions for obtaining a visa are set by the US government. It takes about 1 and a half months for the entire procedure, the visa is valid for 12 months.

A year abroad goes by quickly, if the au pair is not yet ready to leave.