Program Information

The Exchange Visitor Program fosters global understanding through educational and cultural exchanges. All exchange visitors are expected to return to their home country upon completion of their program in order to share their exchange experiences. Read this J-1 Fact Sheet to learn more about the Exchange Visitor Program.

Household Guide

Agent Au Pair is pleased to be providing you with a new and improved Au Pair & Host Family Household Guide. Our new fillable pdf template is easy to fill out for the hosts and offers visual icons for English language learners. Hosts may transition to the new guide at any time during their current program year and should plan to create their new guide before their next au pair program.

Emergency Information

If you are in an emergency situation, please contact your Local Coordinator. Should your Local Coordinator not be available, you may call our 24h emergency number 1-415-376-0202.

If there is no answer, please leave a detailed voice mail or send a text message. If you do not reach someone immediately- do not panic but leave a message and call or text again soon. Remember, this phone number is for emergency purposes only. For any non-urgent matters please call +1 (415) 376-0202.

Monthly Meetings

Au pairs are required to attend a meeting every month to check in with their Local Coordinator about how they’re adjusting to the US and answer any questions they might have. These meetings are part of the program requirements from the U.S. Department of state. If you miss more then one Monthly Meeting you may not be able to extend your program due to being in violation.

Rematch Policy

Conflicts can arise between host families and au pairs when needs or expectations aren’t being met. The Agent Au Pair team is here to make sure you have a successful year and will help resolve a conflict if any occur. The first step you should take to resolve the conflict is to sit down and communicate with your host family to express your concerns and needs. If the conflict continues, you should contact your Local Counselor to assist you in resolving the problem. If the conflict continues, after 30 days, the conflict will be escalated to management to assist and determine the root of the conflict. If you are in a urgent situation, your Local Counselor will contact Management immediately for resolution. If the conflict cannot be resolved after the mediation period, the au pair can enter rematch only if she is in good standing and attempted to resolve the conflict with their host family.

Reapplying to the Au Pair Program

Can I return to the United States on the Au Pair Program for a second time?

According to the rules and regulation of the Au Pair Program, au pair’s commit to the program for 1 year with the option to extend for an additional 6, 9, or 12 months.

If you have already taken part of the Au Pair Program in the United States, you are able to return to participate in a second au pair program. To apply to the program again, you must have successfully completed your first au pair program and you must have lived outside of the United States for 2+years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are an Au Pair Responsibilities?

Some of an au pair’s responsibilities can include:

Bathing, dressing and putting children to bed
Changing diapers, entertaining babies, feeding babies
Driving children to school and activities
Getting children ready for school
Playing with children, leading activities, teaching games, and songs
Preparing meals for children
Supervising homework
Taking children on outings in local community
Tidying children’s rooms and doing children’s laundry
Taking toddlers to the park and activities

Responsibilities vary depending on the needs of the host family and their children. Au pairs can work up to 45 hours per week and no more than 10 hours in a day. As part of J-1 visa program requirements, au pairs are also required to complete at least six semester hours of academic credit at an accredited post-secondary institution during their time in the U.S.

What is a Host Family?

A host family has at least one child under the age of 16 requiring care and the desire to participate in long-term cultural exchange through welcoming an au pair into their home for a year. The au pair will live with the host family and participates in family activities such as outings, meals, and celebrations.

The main duty of an au pair living with a host family is looking after the children and helping with light housework connected to the care of the children. In return, the family provides the au pair with a room of his or her own in the family home, the program-specified weekly compensation, and educational program allowance.

Please see our Childcare Comparison page for further information comparing an au pair with other childcare programs.

Can my Au Pair provide overnight care?

Yes, but with important considerations. While U.S. Department of State regulations don’t explicitly prohibit overnight care, all on-duty time, even when children are sleeping, counts as working hours. Au pairs cannot work more than 10 hours in a 24-hour period.

Frequent overnight care can impact the au pair’s quality of life and the program’s success. Consider the frequency and whether a cultural exchange program is the best fit for consistent overnight needs.

If you require overnight care, please:

Discuss it with a Matching Specialist before matching.
Clearly detail your overnight care needs in your profile and during interviews.
Be prepared to offer extra support if the au pair finds the non-traditional schedule challenging.

What compensation do au pairs receive?

Au pairs are paid by their host families based upon 45 hours of child care per week in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at a currently minimum weekly rate of $195.75.

Additionally, au pairs are given a private bedroom and meals while living with their host family. Au pairs are also given an educational stipend of up to $500 by host families to cover their J-1 educational program requirement.