Au Pair staying on

[Anonymous]

We love our au pair and she is incredible with our kids and a wonderful member of our family. She wants to remain in the US and study and we are willing to sponsor her for her visa. She's applied to schools but we know she will likely have to get a tourist visa in between when her J-1 expires and when she can enroll in college. She will continue to live with us and we will pay for her living expenses. She will help out around the house like she does now (cooking dinner a night or two a week, helping with cleanup, helping kids keep their rooms neat and with laundry), and she will occasionally watch the kids but likely significantly less than she does now (which is already only @20 hours/week max). I realize we cannot pay her to work while she is a tourist or a student, but are we allowed to pay her expenses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We love our au pair and she is incredible with our kids and a wonderful member of our family. She wants to remain in the US and study and we are willing to sponsor her for her visa. She's applied to schools but we know she will likely have to get a tourist visa in between when her J-1 expires and when she can enroll in college. She will continue to live with us and we will pay for her living expenses. She will help out around the house like she does now (cooking dinner a night or two a week, helping with cleanup, helping kids keep their rooms neat and with laundry), and she will occasionally watch the kids but likely significantly less than she does now (which is already only @20 hours/week max). I realize we cannot pay her to work while she is a tourist or a student, but are we allowed to pay her expenses?

As long as you do not work for the federal government or a contractor you can get away with whatever you want. Only feds/contractors or military have to follow the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love our au pair and she is incredible with our kids and a wonderful member of our family. She wants to remain in the US and study and we are willing to sponsor her for her visa. She's applied to schools but we know she will likely have to get a tourist visa in between when her J-1 expires and when she can enroll in college. She will continue to live with us and we will pay for her living expenses. She will help out around the house like she does now (cooking dinner a night or two a week, helping with cleanup, helping kids keep their rooms neat and with laundry), and she will occasionally watch the kids but likely significantly less than she does now (which is already only @20 hours/week max). I realize we cannot pay her to work while she is a tourist or a student, but are we allowed to pay her expenses?

As long as you do not work for the federal government or a contractor you can get away with whatever you want. Only feds/contractors or military have to follow the rules.

Really? I find this hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love our au pair and she is incredible with our kids and a wonderful member of our family. She wants to remain in the US and study and we are willing to sponsor her for her visa. She's applied to schools but we know she will likely have to get a tourist visa in between when her J-1 expires and when she can enroll in college. She will continue to live with us and we will pay for her living expenses. She will help out around the house like she does now (cooking dinner a night or two a week, helping with cleanup, helping kids keep their rooms neat and with laundry), and she will occasionally watch the kids but likely significantly less than she does now (which is already only @20 hours/week max). I realize we cannot pay her to work while she is a tourist or a student, but are we allowed to pay her expenses?

As long as you do not work for the federal government or a contractor you can get away with whatever you want. Only feds/contractors or military have to follow the rules.

Really? I find this hard to believe.

Not a federal contractor and wouldn't sponsor someone and ask them to work without a visa. I know it happens all of the time, but it would be my luck to have something happen and get in trouble or worse, the aupair become a squatter or something. I'll keep hosting until my kids are school aged and have the option of a rematch, if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love our au pair and she is incredible with our kids and a wonderful member of our family. She wants to remain in the US and study and we are willing to sponsor her for her visa. She's applied to schools but we know she will likely have to get a tourist visa in between when her J-1 expires and when she can enroll in college. She will continue to live with us and we will pay for her living expenses. She will help out around the house like she does now (cooking dinner a night or two a week, helping with cleanup, helping kids keep their rooms neat and with laundry), and she will occasionally watch the kids but likely significantly less than she does now (which is already only @20 hours/week max). I realize we cannot pay her to work while she is a tourist or a student, but are we allowed to pay her expenses?

As long as you do not work for the federal government or a contractor you can get away with whatever you want. Only feds/contractors or military have to follow the rules.

Really? I find this hard to believe.

Practically, yes. That’s why you see a much, much higher degree of rule following for stuff like this in DCUM-land vis-a-vis everywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Does allowing her to stay in our home and paying her expenses count as working without a visa?

[Anonymous]

Yes, you are paying her "in kind" if she is providing child care for you

[Anonymous]

You are committing tax fraud. Hope you aren’t audited.

Amazes people that they think they are the first ones to thinks of this or try to make this work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are committing tax fraud. Hope you aren’t audited.

Amazes people that they think they are the first ones to thinks of this or try to make this work.

How? I’m not paying her. I’m letting her live here while she studies. She’s not working for me. How is that tax fraud?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are committing tax fraud. Hope you aren’t audited.

Amazes people that they think they are the first ones to thinks of this or try to make this work.

How? I’m not paying her. I’m letting her live here while she studies. She’s not working for me. How is that tax fraud?

You are paying by providing room and boarding in exchange of childcare, that is paying in IRS book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are committing tax fraud. Hope you aren’t audited.

Amazes people that they think they are the first ones to thinks of this or try to make this work.

How? I’m not paying her. I’m letting her live here while she studies. She’s not working for me. How is that tax fraud?

You have to know this is tax fraud. If you are giving something to her of value in exchange for a service like childcare, you are paying her.

[Anonymous]

Also, have you replaced the child care she was providing with someone else?

I assume not. So wink wink she is still providing child care.

The IRS is totally onto this scam.

[Anonymous]

Only two ways to make this work.

— adopt her
— marry her off.

That is it.

Also, where is she getting the money for school. FYI, the school are audited constantly on this kind of thing. She actually has to pay and go. Min 15k per year.


So if you are paying or assisting, you are again paying for child care.

[Anonymous]

I agree that it is fraud and not consistent with the spirit of the student visa program, but I also think there is low risk of getting caught.

My main problem with host families doing this is that it creates pressure on host families who choose not to do this. Our APs sometimes ask us, tell us that "all their friends" are being sponsored etc. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

OP, when you say she will have to get a tourist visa, do you mean she will go back home and apply? What country is she from? This could be harder than you'd think due to both COVID and suspicion by the consular officer that she isnt a tourist...