Au Pair visa?

[Obelix25860]

What is the name of your state? VA

I'm in the US under an H-1B visa, and my employer is sponsoring LPR (still not even through Labor Cert).

We're interested in hiring an au-pair and wanted to ask what are the requirements for the J-1 visa. Can we "sponsor" a J-1 as non-US Citizens or non-LPRs? Are there other visa categories that would allow us to sponsor an au-pair? I've been looking at some of the au-pair agencies, yet they seem to charge an arm and a leg for their fees (I'm not saying they're not worth it, just that they're very high), so we were wondering if this is something we could do on our own (with or without a lawyer), or if the hassle is worth the $6k/year the agencies charge.

 

[phwl]

Lawful Permanent Residents can qualify to host an au pair. Since this type of thing is a specialty and requires personnel with specific knowledge, agencies are almost always used, since they can streamline the process and have access to substantial data. It would be in your best interest if you "shopped around" and call a few places to compare what they offer at what price.