Approximately 21,450 young adults, many of them women, come to the United States on J-1 visas every year to work as au pairs for American families. Au pairs have reported that U.S. au pair agencies, which are supposed to act as intermediaries between au pairs and host families, engage in fraudulent recruitment practices which misled them about the nature of the position. The current U.S. au pair system leaves au pairs vulnerable to various forms of exploitation. One solution would be to classify the au pair program under the U.S. Department of Labor and reform the program to increase federal oversight. The J-1 visa program also needs to be reformed to allow au pairs to easily change jobs without approval. Although au pair J-1 visa holders are not tied to a single employer like foreign workers on other temporary visa types, they still must receive approval from their original visa sponsor before changing employers. This makes it difficult for au pairs to leave situations involving labor exploitation and trafficking. The presenter will discuss the policy implications of reclassifying the au pair program under the U.S. Department of Labor and specific reforms that would work to reduce vulnerabilities that make labor exploitation through the U.S. au pair system possible. Attendees will understand the mechanisms of the U.S. au pair program, including pain points that make it ripe for exploitation and how policy reform could alleviate these pain points.
Klara Wisniewska is an Intelligence Analyst specializing in human trafficking research and policy analysis. With experience supporting U.S.-based anti-trafficking initiatives, she investigates exploitation within visa programs at Polaris. Klara provides expert insights into the vulnerabilities of the au pair system and the need for regulatory reforms.