Archive for January 19th, 2007
Extension Au Pair Travel Information
No Comment |Posted by: lbrust on January 19, 2007
IMPORTANT VISA AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
FOR AU PAIRS PARTICIPATING IN
THE SECOND YEAR EXTENSION PROGRAM
Extension au pairs may travel to their home country during the second year.Embassy posts around the world have been informed about the second year extension program for au pair participants:
Extension au pairs must have all necessary documentation and paperwork to renew J-1 visas.
In order to renew the J-1 visa, an extension au pair must bring the proper documentation with her/him to the U.S. embassy in her/his home country.
An extension au pair wishing to travel to her/his home country and to return to the United States must have her/his J-1 visa renewed while at home before attempting to resume participation in the program in the United States. An au pair who does not renew her/his J-1 visa risks not being allowed to reenter the United States to continue on the program.Au pairs and host families should be aware that it can sometimes take six to eight weeks to obtain an appointment to renew a J-1 visa at U.S. embassies around the world. Au pairs must schedule appointments for J-1 visa renewals well in advance of their travel dates as waiting times for appointments vary greatly depending on time of year and demanded at specific U.S. embassy posts. Cultural Care recommends contacting the U.S. embassy no later than six to eight weeks before traveling home. Contact information for U.S. Embassies abroad can be found at http://usecnbassy.state_gov/.Cultural Care Au Pair is not able to book appointments at the U.S. embassy on the au pair’s behalf and has no ability to affect scheduling appointments at the U.S. embassy in any way.Cultural Care Au Pair cannot guarantee the renewal of a j-1 visa. Although an au pair has been approved by the U.S. Department of State to participate in the extension program, the decision to renew the visa is at the discretion of the consular officer who interviews the au pair.An extension au pair wishing to renew the J-1 visa must bring her/his passport and the original copy of the DS-2019 form renewed by Cultural Care Au Pair at the time of enrollment in the second year extension program. The DS-2019 form will reflect the dates of the au pair’s second year. Cultural Care Au Pair will also provide the au pair with a letter of good standing and a copy of the U.S. Department of State cable regarding the second year extension program.In addition, au pairs will need to complete and bring forms DS 156 and DS 158. Male au pairs have to complete a third form as well; form DS 157. Form DS 156 can be filled out online and then printed. It is available at http://evisaforms http://state.gov/ . There is a non-refundable fee of USD246 to apply for the second J-1 visa. The fee is paid directly to the embassy and the au pair is responsible for covering this cost. It is the au pair’s responsibility to inquire with the U.S Embassy in their home country to see if other forms are needed. It may be necessary for the au pair to bring a copy of her/his host family application, school diplomas or bank statements.Cultural Care will not be responsible for any costs incurred by a visa denial or visa delay, and host families could be subject to breaks in childcare due to the renewal process. extension au pairs and host families travel to countries other than an extension au pair’s home country is limited unless the extension au pair completes the J-1 visa renewal process in her/his home country first. If an au pair fails to complete the J-1 visa renewal process before traveling internationally to a country other than her/his home country, she/he will most likely be denied reentry to the United States. An exception for this requirement exists for Canada, Mexico and adjacent islands. Please see the section below on travel to those countries.Au pairs traveling to their home countries at the end may experience difficulty in returning to the United States. The airlines carefully review visas and visa expiration dates for U.S. bound passengers, and airline officials will not take any risks as they may be penalized with substantial fines if they allow someone to fly to the U.S. who does not have a proper visa. Consequently, even if the visa dates in the au pairs’ passport are still valid, airlines are likely to deny boarding to anyone whose visa is close to expiring. To address this, Cultural Care Au Pair advises all extension au pairs returning home within 30 days of the end of their first year to complete the J-1 visa renewal process before attempting to return to the au pair program in the United States.of their first year You must have an unexpired 1-94 card indicating your J-l status in your passport when you enter the U.S. Do not surrender the 1-94 card when you leave the U.S. If you do, you will not be eligible for visa revalidation.You must have your DS-2019 form with your extension program dates.You must have a passport valid at least six months into the future on the day you return to the U.S.You should contact the Cultural Care Operations Department for a copy of the visa revalidation regulation.You can travel only to one of the destinations named above and for fewer than thirty days. For example, you cannot use automatic revalidation to enter Canada, depart to another country, return to Canada, and then return to the U.S. within 30 days.You cannot apply to renew your J-1 visa while in Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean. If you apply for the J-1 visa during your visit to one of these destinations, you must wait for it to be issued before you return. If your visa application is denied by the American consulate, you are not allowed to use automatic revalidation to return to the U.S. You will be required to travel to your country of citizenship to apply for a new visa.You must have a J-I visa (expired or valid) in your passport. If you lost your passport during your first year and had it replaced, you will not have the J-1 visa in that new passport and therefore cannot take advantage of travel to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.If you are a citizen of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, Cuba, or Libya you are not eligible for visa revalidation. If you are a national of one of the above countries, you must always have a valid visa in your passport to enter the United States.You may be required to have a visa from either Canada or Mexico to enter those countries. The visa you have for the United States does not automatically grant entry into these countries. We recommend that you check with the Canadian or Mexican consulate in the U.S. before travel: The decision to allow an au pair back into the U.S. is at the discretion of the immigration officer at the port of entry. Cultural Care cannot guarantee reentry into the United States and will not be responsible for any costs incurred due to reentry problems. Forms DS 157 and DS 158 are available to be downloaded and printed at http:/iwww.visapro.aim/Department-State-Forms.asp.
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