Au Pair wants to find a family that will "sponsor" her

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those considering sponsoring someone, keep in mind you will have to attest in writing that the student will not work while studying. Suspect this DC audience may be sensitive to the possibility of this coming back to haunt during security clearance process.

And don’t forget the tax fraud you would be committing unless you are declaring her and paying the required taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those considering sponsoring someone, keep in mind you will have to attest in writing that the student will not work while studying. Suspect this DC audience may be sensitive to the possibility of this coming back to haunt during security clearance process.

And don’t forget the tax fraud you would be committing unless you are declaring her and paying the required taxes.

What do you mean by declaring her? And what required taxes?

[Anonymous]

Providing her with value (living space/food/vacations) is likely taxable income for her if she is working (childcare) at all; similarly you could be considered to be "employing" her meaning you should be paying SS and medicare taxes etc. I am not an expert, so you may want to ask your accountant for better info. Of course, all of this is unlikely to be discovered by the IRS unless 1) someone turns you in, 2) she gets mad at you and blows it up/calls a lawyer saying you held her captive etc 3) you are a federal employee who might be asked directly about this type of thing. It also makes it hard on those families for whatever reason don't believe in doing this as our Au Pairs throw this at us when they explain why they are rematching or why their friend's host family is better than us....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Providing her with value (living space/food/vacations) is likely taxable income for her if she is working (childcare) at all; similarly you could be considered to be "employing" her meaning you should be paying SS and medicare taxes etc. I am not an expert, so you may want to ask your accountant for better info. Of course, all of this is unlikely to be discovered by the IRS unless 1) someone turns you in, 2) she gets mad at you and blows it up/calls a lawyer saying you held her captive etc 3) you are a federal employee who might be asked directly about this type of thing. It also makes it hard on those families for whatever reason don't believe in doing this as our Au Pairs throw this at us when they explain why they are rematching or why their friend's host family is better than us....

But a former ap on a student visa can't legally work so how do they have taxable income? And you can't be "employing" her... so that makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 14:25 poster - I am NOT employing a former AP and am in fact critical of folks doing that. I was trying to point out that those who are using childcare are technically employing them (illegally) and what that might mean for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Providing her with value (living space/food/vacations) is likely taxable income for her if she is working (childcare) at all; similarly you could be considered to be "employing" her meaning you should be paying SS and medicare taxes etc. I am not an expert, so you may want to ask your accountant for better info. Of course, all of this is unlikely to be discovered by the IRS unless 1) someone turns you in, 2) she gets mad at you and blows it up/calls a lawyer saying you held her captive etc 3) you are a federal employee who might be asked directly about this type of thing. It also makes it hard on those families for whatever reason don't believe in doing this as our Au Pairs throw this at us when they explain why they are rematching or why their friend's host family is better than us....

But a former ap on a student visa can't legally work so how do they have taxable income? And you can't be "employing" her... so that makes no sense.

Employing someone who can’t legally work doesn’t exempt you from the tax burden. If you don’t pay the taxes as well, you’ll just get hit with more crap if you get caught. It’s not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Providing her with value (living space/food/vacations) is likely taxable income for her if she is working (childcare) at all; similarly you could be considered to be "employing" her meaning you should be paying SS and medicare taxes etc. I am not an expert, so you may want to ask your accountant for better info. Of course, all of this is unlikely to be discovered by the IRS unless 1) someone turns you in, 2) she gets mad at you and blows it up/calls a lawyer saying you held her captive etc 3) you are a federal employee who might be asked directly about this type of thing. It also makes it hard on those families for whatever reason don't believe in doing this as our Au Pairs throw this at us when they explain why they are rematching or why their friend's host family is better than us....

But a former ap on a student visa can't legally work so how do they have taxable income? And you can't be "employing" her... so that makes no sense.

Employing someone who can’t legally work doesn’t exempt you from the tax burden. If you don’t pay the taxes as well, you’ll just get hit with more crap if you get caught. It’s not worth it.

Exactly. It only takes something like 1200 hours a year of babysitting or other domestic work to trigger the requirement that you pay SS and other taxes for your domestic employee. Do you think if you have an AP work illegally it then means you don't fall under this rule. Good luck telling the IRS that. If you are a high earner, you may in fact get audited and trust me, the first thing an auditor will look at is who is taking care of your kids and are you paying the appropriate taxes.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I mispoke. It is $1200 worth of services, not hours. It may be a bit higher now.

[Anonymous]

I could’ve written this. We are in our extension year with our first au pair. She wants to stay in the country on a student visa but has zero funds. She’s mentioned the sponsorship thing and tells us that the vast majority of au pairs do this. She makes it seem so common.

We have asked her to provide us with the details of sponsorship and she hasn’t, except to say other HF do it all the time. This is where I think the “au pair is family” trope causes problems.

Our au pair agency definitely framed this as a one or two year commitment. Our au pair clearly thinks we should help her pay for a college education in the states.

We had nannies before and while it was more expensive (but not * that * much more when you add in all the incidentals of an au pair), I appreciated the clear lines of employment. None of them expected anything beyond their paycheck and good references.

[Anonymous]

It is definitely not 'common'! And once host families realize the expense and time involved in sponsoring a student visa most will back down. I think many expect it to be an easy solution and then realize how expensive it is and how little benefit there is to the family. I'm sure some do it for very beloved au pairs but after years of bonding.

[Anonymous]

I've heard this from my AP too and know of no host family that do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard this from my AP too and know of no host family that do this.

In fact I know of several families who desperately wanted to do this but in the end decided against it because it's not legal, expensive and really hard to do.

[Anonymous]

I only know of one family who was doing the paperwork and committed to it. Their kids were aging out of needing an AP, and the second to last AP (extension, loved the family and they loved her) decided that she wanted to come to the US for at least a year of school. She ended up canceling to stay in her country when her grandmother was diagnosed with a terminal disease. I lost touch with them, so I don’t know if they were going to do it later.

[Anonymous]

It is a job, just like any job. An AP is not going to put your family over her needs and that of her own family. If you were offered a better job prospect, you would put in two weeks and leave current job. Same with APs. So don't take it personally. Just move on if you need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a job, just like any job. An AP is not going to put your family over her needs and that of her own family. If you were offered a better job prospect, you would put in two weeks and leave current job. Same with APs. So don't take it personally. Just move on if you need to.

You are right, however the difference here is when someone claims they can easily have a better offer but don't actually have one, it is misleading and manipulative. If an AP has a better offer, by all means they will leave, that is what most rematches are all about.
I have heard lot of APs claim their current HF has promised to sponsor them but I am still to see an AP who was actually sponsored by a family.