U.S. State Department Regulations

¤ U.S. State Department Regulations ¤

There are lot of rules and this text is very long, it is not necessary to read everything, this text is at your disposal. However these various points are resumed in the whole of the section which presents the au pair program on this forum.

I took the freedom to put in bold face the information which concern directly the au pair program. The rest of the information concerns especially the agencies and the conditions which they have to fill to be approved in the program.




22 CFR Sec. 62.31 Au Pairs (eff. Oct. 9, 2008)


(a) Introduction.
This section governs Department of State-designated exchange visitor
programs under which foreign nationals are afforded the opportunity to
live with an American host family and participate directly in the home
life of the host family. All au pair participants provide child care
services to the host family and attend a U.S. post-secondary
educational institution. Au pair participants provide up to forty-five
hours of child care services per week and pursue not less than six
semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent during their year
of program participation. Au pairs participating in the
EduCare program provide up to thirty hours of child care services per
week and pursue not less than twelve semester hours of academic credit
or its equivalent during their year of program participation.

"Etre au pair", ça veut dire quoi?"

(b) Program designation.
The Department of State may, in its sole discretion, designate bona
fide programs satisfying the objectives set forth in paragraph (a) of
this section. Such designation shall be for a period of two years and
may be revoked by the Department of State for good cause.

(c) Program eligibility. Sponsors designated by the Department of State to conduct an au pair exchange program shall;

• (1) Limit the participation of foreign nationals in such programs to not more than one year;
  
• (2)
  Limit the number of hours an EduCare au pair participant is obligated
  to provide child care services to not more than 10 hours per day or
  more than 30 hours per week and limit the number of hours all other au
  pair participants are obligated to provide child care services to not
  more than 10 hours per day or more than 45 hours per week;
  
• (3)
  Require that EduCare au pair participants register and attend classes
  offered by an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution for not less
  than twelve semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent and
  that all other au pair participants register and attend classes offered
  by an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution for not less than six
  semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent;
  
• (4) Require that all officers, employees, agents, and volunteers acting on their behalf are adequately trained and supervised;
  
• (5)
  Require that the au pair participant is placed with a host family
  within one hour's driving time of the home of the local organizational
  representative authorized to act on the sponsor's behalf in both
  routine and emergency matters arising from the au pair's participation
  in their exchange program;
  
• (6) Require that each local
  organizational representative maintain a record of all personal monthly
  contacts (or more frequently as required) with each au pair and host
  family for which he or she is responsible and issues or problems
  discussed;
  
• (7) Require that all local organizational
  representatives contact au pair participants and host families twice
  monthly for the first two months following a placement other than the
  initial placement for which the au pair entered the United States.
  
• (
  Require that local organizational representatives not devoting their
  full time and attention to their program obligations are responsible
  for no more than fifteen au pairs and host families; and
  
• (9)
  Require that each local organizational representative is provided
  adequate support services by a regional organizational representative.
  

(d) Au pair selection. In addition to satisfying the requirements of §62.10(a), sponsors shall ensure that all participants in a designated au pair exchange program:

• (1) Are between the ages of 18 and 26;
  

• (2) Are a secondary school graduate, or equivalent;
  

• (3) Are proficient in spoken English;
  

• (4) Are capable of fully participating in the program as evidenced by the satisfactory completion of a physical;
  

• (5) Have been personally interviewed, in English,
  by an organizational representative who shall prepare a report of the
  interview which shall be provided to the host family; and
  

• (6) Have successfully passed a background investigation that includes verification
  of school, three, non-family related personal and employment
  references, a criminal background check or its recognized equivalent
  and a personality profile. Such personality profile will be
  based upon a psychometric test designed to measure differences in
  characteristics among applicants against those characteristics
  considered most important to successfully participate in the au pair
  program.
  

(e) Au pair placement. Sponsors shall
secure, prior to the au pair's departure from the home country, a host
family placement for each participant. Sponsors shall not:

• (1) Place an au pair with a family unless the family has specifically agreed that a parent or other responsible adult will remain in the home for the first three days following the au pair's arrival;
  

• (2) Place an au pair with a family having a child aged less than three months unless a parent or other responsible adult is present in the home;
  

• (3) Place an au pair with a host family having children under the age of two, unless the au pair has at least 200 hours of documented infant child care experience.
  An au pair participating in the EduCare program shall not be placed
  with a family having pre-school children in the home unless alternative
  full-time arrangements for the supervision of such pre-school children
  are in place;
  

• (4) Place an au pair with a host family having a special needs child, as so identified by the host family, unless the au pair has specifically identified his or her prior experience, skills, or training
  in the care of special needs children and the host family has reviewed
  and acknowledged in writing the au pair's prior experience, skills, or
  training so identified;
  

• (5) Place an au pair with a host family unless a written
  agreement between the au pair and the host family detailing the au
  pair's obligation to provide child care has been signed by both the au
  pair and the host family prior to the au pair's departure from his or
  her home country. Such agreement shall clearly state whether
  the au pair is an EduCare program participant or not. Such agreement
  shall limit the obligation to provide child care services to not more than 10 hours per day or more than 45 hours per week unless the au pair is an EduCare participant.
  Such agreement shall limit the obligation of an EduCare participant to
  provide child care service to not more than 10 hours per day or more
  than 30 hours per week.
  

• (6) Place the au pair with a family who cannot provide the au pair with a suitable private bedroom; and
  

• (7) Place an au pair with a host family unless the host family has interviewed the au pair by telephone prior to the au pair's departure from his or her home country.
  

(f) Au pair orientation. In addition to the orientation requirements set forth at §62.10, all sponsors shall provide au pairs, prior to their departure from the home country, with the following information:

• (1)
  A copy of all operating procedures, rules, and regulations, including a
  grievance process, which govern the au pair's participation in the
  exchange program;
  
• (2) A detailed profile of the family and community in which the au pair will be placed;
  
• (3)
  A detailed profile of the educational institutions in the community
  where the au pair will be placed, including the financial cost of
  attendance at these institutions;
  
• (4) A detailed summary of travel arrangements; and
  
• (5) A copy of the Department of State's written statement and brochure regarding the au pair program.
  

(g) Au pair training. Sponsors shall provide the au pair participant with child development and child safety instruction, as follows:

• (1) Prior to placement with the host family, the au pair participant shall receive not less than eight hours of child safety instruction no less than 4 of which shall be infant-related; and
  
• (2) Prior to placement with the American host family, the au pair participant shall receive not
  less than twenty-four hours of child development instruction of which
  no less than 4 shall be devoted to specific training for children under
  the age of two.
  

(h) Host family selection. Sponsors shall adequately screen all potential host families and at a minimum shall:

• (1) Require that the host parents are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents;
  

• (2) Require that host parents are fluent in spoken English;
  

• (3) Require that all adult family members resident in the home have been personally interviewed by an organizational representative;
  

• (4) Require that host parents and other adults living full-time in the household have successfully passed a background investigation including employment and personal character references;
  

• (5) Require that the host family have adequate financial resources to undertake all hosting obligations;
  

• (6) Provide a written detailed summary of the exchange program and the parameters of their and the au pair's duties, participation, and obligations; and
  

• (7) Provide the host family with the prospective au pair participant's complete application, including all references.
  

(i) Host family orientation. In addition to the requirements set forth at §62.10 sponsors shall:

• (1) Inform all host families of the philosophy, rules, and regulations governing
  the sponsor's exchange program and provide all families with a copy of
  the Department of State's written statement and brochure regarding the
  au pair program;
  
• (2) Provide all selected host families with a complete copy of Department of State-promulgated Exchange Visitor Program regulations, including the supplemental information thereto;
  
• (3) Advise all selected host families of their obligation
  to attend at least one family day conference to be sponsored by the au
  pair organization during the course of the placement year.
  Host family attendance at such a gathering is a condition of program
  participation and failure to attend will be grounds for possible
  termination of their continued or future program participation; and
  
• (4) Require that the
  organization's local counselor responsible for the au pair placement
  contacts the host family and au pair within forth-eight hours of the au
  pair's arrival and meets, in person, with the host family and au pair
  within two weeks of the au pair's arrival at the host family home.