Kelly Farling

Au Pairs traveling outside of the US during their first year

Au pairs are allowed to travel outside of the U.S. during their 12 month stay.  In order to assure re-entry into the U.S., the au pair must send in her DS-2019 form to Cultural Care to have the Travel Validation box signed by a Responsible Officer.  The au pair should include a note indicating the dates of departure, as well as a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The au pair should allow 3-4 weeks for processing. If the au pair sends in the DS-2019 form less than 3 weeks before travel, a Federal Express envelope or a self-addressed USPS priority mail envelope should be used. The au pair should also include a pre-paid return Federal Express envelope or USPS priority mail envelope so that the signed DS-2019 form is returned promptly. If no pre-paid envelope is enclosed, there will be a 15USD for sending a DS-2019 form by Federal Express within the US, and 30USD for sending overseas. The au pair may pay by check or credit card. 

The DS-2019 form should be sent to:

Cultural Care Au Pair
Attn: Travel Validation
One Education Street
Cambridge, MA 02141

Please note! We do not recommend traveling outside of the US during the last 2 months of the year. While technically the au pair has a valid visa and should not have any problems getting back into the country, sometimes immigration officers question why the au pair traveled outside of the country so close to the expiration date of her visa.

Au pairs do not need the DS 2019 form signed for travel if they are planning on visiting Canada, Mexico or the adjacent Caribbean islands (excluding Cuba).  The back of the DS-2019 form (Certificate of Eligibility) explains that the travel validation signature is required when returning to the US after a visit to another country “other than a contiguous territory or the adjacent islands.” A contiguous territory or adjacent island refers to Canada, Mexico and the adjacent Caribbean islands(excluding Cuba), therefore a signature is not required when traveling to these specific destinations.  If traveling to another country aside from those described above they must send in their DS 2019 for a travel validation signature.

Many Non-Western European au pairs are required to obtain a tourist visa to visit Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Au pairs should contact the closest embassy of their destination country for information and visa applications. Please visit www.embassyworld.com for the closest embassy or consulate. If an au pair travels without the appropriate documents, she may be denied re-entry into the U.S. and may be prohibited from boarding the plane.

It is the responsibility of each au pair to check to see if a tourist visa is required for the country he/she is visiting.

• Travel to Canada: please follow this link to find out if the au pair needs a tourist visa: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp.
• Travel to Mexico: please follow this link to find out if the au pair needs a tourist visa:  Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• For all other countries, please visit www.embassyworld.com for a listing of embassies for various countries. If the au pair travels without the appropriate documents, such as a tourist visa, she/he may be prohibited from boarding the plane and/or denied entry into the country.

• Travel outside of the U.S. during the au pair’s 13^th month is not permitted by the J-1 visa.  If an au pair leaves the continental U.S. during this month, she will not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Cultural Care has no authority in this case. The only exception to this rule is travel to Hawaii. Au pair may travel to Hawaii in their 13^th month