If you want to spend a year living and working in the U.S. as an au pair, then you’ll need to meet the program requirements listed below.

Usa au pair program requirements

• Aged between 18-26
• Be a non-U.S. citizen
• Be secondary school graduate, or equivalent
• Be in good health
• Pass a background investigation that includes verification of school, references, criminal record check and personality profile; (psychometric test)
• Be able to provide 3 non-family related references, of which some must be related to childcare (at least 200 documented hours of childcare experience)
• Be personally interviewed in English, by our American agency’s representative;
• Complete a detailed application
• Have passion for childcare
• Be able to commit to a 12-month position
• Be interested in the US culture and lifestyle
• Have a driving licence and relevant driving experience
• Have a valid passport and ID card
• Be a non-smoker

Visa requirement

In order to legally work as an Au Pair in the USA, you need a J-1 visa. The cost of the visa is $160 which must be paid to the US Embassy of Hungary. Be careful! You cannot be an au pair with a tourist visa for 6 months or only with an ESTA form for up to 3 months! This is illegal! The border control in the US might catch you the minute you set foot on American ground and send you back home.

Driving licence requirement

You should clarify beforehand if your host family expects you to drive their car. Should this be the case, you ought to find out if your driving licence remains valid in your host country. What happens in case of damage? Who bears the costs? You should talk this over with you host family and jot down everything. Usually in the US au pair programme, all the families need au pairs to drive because of the long distance between two places. In the case of required driving license, you have to apply for an international driving license in Hungary before your departure.  For the international document you must need your ID card, residence card, driving license and two passport-size photos.