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Au pair in America
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi there! :wave:
Ok, sorry if this is in the wrong thread. Didn't know if it counted as work or travel.
Anyway... I'm considering being an au pair in America after uni sometime (gap-year-type-thing post-uni) and I've found a few organizations online that offer it. I'm British by the way so would need a work visa etc.
Basically, has anyone done this? What organization did you use? Would you recommend them or not? Why? What was the experience like? Did you enjoy it or not? Why? I wanna hear all about it please.
Would be v. grateful for any help.
Oh, and does anyone know if you can get more than one J-1 visa or are they restricted? Cos I'm on one at the moment, but if I do this au pair thing, I'll be needing another one in about a year and a half/2 years' time. Anyone know anything about this?
Ok, sorry if this is in the wrong thread. Didn't know if it counted as work or travel.
Anyway... I'm considering being an au pair in America after uni sometime (gap-year-type-thing post-uni) and I've found a few organizations online that offer it. I'm British by the way so would need a work visa etc.
Basically, has anyone done this? What organization did you use? Would you recommend them or not? Why? What was the experience like? Did you enjoy it or not? Why? I wanna hear all about it please.
Would be v. grateful for any help.
Oh, and does anyone know if you can get more than one J-1 visa or are they restricted? Cos I'm on one at the moment, but if I do this au pair thing, I'll be needing another one in about a year and a half/2 years' time. Anyone know anything about this?
Post edited by JustV on
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I remember getting the visa was a bit of a long-winded affair but this was made all the more difficult as she doesn't go through agencies and just contacts the families directly and they sort it from there. I think she had to have an invitation letter, certain amount of £££ in her bank account and a few other things in order to even qualify for the visa she got for the US. So maybe in that regard it would be a better idea to go through an agency that specialises in sending British aupairs to the US. When I worked in Germany and Austria I met a few other English girls who had done aupairing in the US and Canada, and they'd all gone through this agency and that was also how they'd come to Germany. The agency seemed to provide them with a lot of support and it's a lifeline I suppose in case you have problems, I know a lot of the programmes such as "Aupair in America" have an orientation weekend where all the new aupairs are brought to NY or similar and get a bit of first aid training etc before they head off to different parts of the states. I think that'd be pretty sweet, especially if it's your first time living abroad.
I can put you in touch with my friend if you like, I'm sure her stories will either have you dying to get out there... or put you off completely! :razz:
i'd love to get in touch with your friend if she's ok with that. i'm not 100% sure that I'm gonna do the au pairing thing, but I'm definitely considering it cos i've been researching it most of today & it sounds great.
Sorry, just trying to bump the thread so more people will see & hopefully respond
Anyone done any au pairing anywhere or know anyone who's done it? Is it a good/bad idea?
Am thinking about maybe doing it in Oz/NZ too sometime. Dunno if anything will come of any of this, but would love to do something like this.
Sooooooooooooooooo any help? Anyone? Please?