Got the below message from APIA this week. Sounds promising.

Au Pair in America and other program sponsors came out very strongly against the proposed regulations and asked host families to voice their opinions as well. The Department of State has stated that they received over 10,000 comments from stakeholders; once again demonstrating how valued the au pair program is to so many. Thank you to all who took their time to write about how and why the au pair program is important to you!



Given the response and feedback, the Department of State has stated they will not move forward with the current proposed regulations, and instead will publish a new proposal for public comment and that any new proposals will take into consideration the feedback they received from the previous comment period. There is not a specific timeframe for their issuance, but we have been advised that it is very unlikely we will see any changes in 2025. We will update you if there are more specifics about any new proposed regulations.



The Modernizing the Au Pair Program Act. H.R. 9677 (the MAP Act)



Legislation was recently introduced in the House of Representatives regarding the modernization of the federal Au Pair Program. Sponsored by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R, PA-14), the Modernizing the Au Pair Program Act. H.R. 9677 (the MAP Act); the MAP Act reaffirms and clarifies the exclusive federal regulatory authority of the Department of State over the Au Pair Program. The bill requires that the regulation modernizes and strengthens the program in several key ways. The bill directs the Department of State to modify the au pair stipend in a uniform national way, while keeping the program affordable and flexible for American families. For more information on the bill click here.

This bill and a recent bi-partisan letter from four House members signal the continued Congressional support for the au pair program; support the program has sustained over its 40-year history. Au Pair in America will be working with the Alliance for International Exchange to engage with Congressional Offices to ask for their bi-partisan support of this bill.

Anyone heard any updates on this? Curious about where things.

The short story is this legislation would shut down the vast majority of the exchange. The real issue is the au pair agencies straight shit on both the families and the au pairs if there's an issue and there's no accountability for it from the regulatory agencies. We have had an au pair for a little over a year now. We've hosted 3 others during the same time frame while they waited for a rematch or two go home. All of them were because the families treated them poorly. All of them contacted their agency. And all of them got no noteworthy help from the agency when they needed it. Could wage increase somewhat? Yes. But the nature of the proposed changes makes them employees, not cultural exchange. If anyone was actually concerned for the well-being of the au pair there would be talk about actually protecting them from predation. The market is fully capable of deciding pay and the updates to pay will mean au pairs get stuck in shithole states that still have $7.25 min wages and shut the rest of the program down entirely. Eliminating 85% of a program because 10% of people aren't satisfied is outright moronic...like the supporters of the changes