Au Pair in USA: Frequently Asked Questions

To join the program, your English level must be at least Intermediate. An IEC representative will assess your language level during a dedicated interview.

No — the interview is fairly long and can take up to an hour, but the questions are simple: about your motivation for joining the Au Pair USA program, your experience working with children, your hobbies, your parents, your studies, and other topics. You’ll also be asked to talk through specific situations that could happen while working in the USA so the interviewer can see how you’d handle them. The main thing is to try to answer the questions openly.

The main requirement for joining the program is completion of secondary school (high school). Higher education is, of course, a plus, but it’s not the primary criterion.

After you sign the agreement at IEC, the $150 registration fee is due within 7 calendar days. The second installment of the program fee is due within 14 calendar days after you and your host family have confirmed that you want to work together (as we at IEC call it — “matched”).

Yes!

Roles such as teacher, nanny, camp worker, event participant, and others — any position where a potential participant worked directly with children.

After filling out all required forms and submitting the necessary documents, participants in the Au Pair USA program are added to the sponsor’s list of Au Pairs. Host families view these profiles and choose the Au Pair they like best and whose skills match their needs. An interview is then scheduled between the family and the Au Pair, during which they discuss the job and the family — in short, the family and the Au Pair get to know each other.

Yes, program participants can do this, but only a limited number of times. Before doing so, an Au Pair should inform their IEC office about the situation and consult with them about whether they should end the placement with the host family.

Au Pairs can’t choose their host family or the state they’ll be placed in, but they can specify some criteria for a host family in the sponsor’s online application.

Au Pair participants may work up to 45 hours per week and up to 10 hours per day. Time off includes 1.5 days off per week and at least one full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) each month. You’ll also have two weeks of paid vacation to travel around the USA.

It varies from family to family, but generally Au Pairs play with the kids and take them on walks. They may help with homework, drive the kids to and from school, cook for the kids, and help with household chores. The Au Pair’s schedule and duties are discussed and agreed upon with the host family.

The children’s ages typically match an Au Pair’s level of experience.

If for any reason you can’t get along with your host family while on Au Pair USA, contact your program sponsor first for advice. They’ll help resolve the situation and, if necessary, try to find a new family. Don’t suddenly leave the family without telling anyone about the situation!

Every host family is screened by the program sponsor. Families submit documents proving their safety and financial stability, and the sponsor conducts home visits to verify living conditions.

Yes! But the family must be screened by the program sponsor, and the Au Pair must complete the full enrollment process with IEC, including a language assessment interview. You can get more details about this procedure from an IEC representative.