Want to be an Au Pair? Don't be the victim of a scam.
Becoming an Au Pair can be a wonderful opportunity for you to travel, experience another culture and work with children. Unfortunately, there are a lot of internet scams revolving around the Au Pair program around the world, but there are ways to pursue an application to become an Au Pair to protect yourself from becoming the victim of a scam.
If you would like to be an Au Pair in the US, you can select a US designated sponsor from the list on the J-1 visa website and contact them to find out who their partner is in your home country. You will be required to register with the US agencies partner in your home country.
If you are making the decision to go somewhere other than the US, you should find an International Au Pair Association member agency and contact from their information on the IAPA website. You can find links to both of these sites in the accompanying text for this video.
All American sponsors will have their own email domain. For example, all Go Au Pair email addresses end in @goaupair.com, and their contact information will be listed on their website.
When you are registering with an agency in your home country, you will begin by filling out an application and you will be advised of all required fees. Any fees will be paid directly to your home agency or to the embassy for your visa appointment. You should be wary of anyone telling you to pay large amounts of money by Western Union, Host families contacting you directly and not through an agency and anyone telling you to contact an email address that is not listed on a sponsor agency website or the Department of States J-1 Visa website.
If you feel that someone is trying to scam you or you have been the victim of a scam, contact the sponsor or your home country agency directly by the contact information found on their website, the Department of State’s website, or the IAPA website.
We hope that this information can serve as a guide to you in the beginning of your Au Pair process and congratulations on taking this first step into this exciting adventure.
Go Au Pair: www.goaupair.com
IAPA: iapa.org
J-1 Visa: j1visa.state.gov
3 окт 2023
