Au Pairs Traveling outside the United States
If you are planning to travel outside of the United States during your program term you must make sure you check with the embassy or consulate of the country being visited to find out if an additional visa is required. It is also important that you check the status of your J1 visa in your passport and the date of expiration. You must have your DS2019 signed by a member of staff in the Stamford office and returned before you depart for your trip. It must be an original signature for validation. The DS2019 should be mailed at least three weeks prior to the departure date for the trip. It should be mailed with the travel validation request form which can be found here: http://www.aupairinamerica.com/pdf/travform.pdf and a return self addressed stamped envelope and a check for $10 if you want it to be returned by 2 day UPS delivery.
NB: Make sure you have received your DS2019 before leaving for vacations such as cruises (where logistically it is very difficult for us to get the DS2019 to you after your departure). We want to make sure that no au pair gets stuck at a port of entry which can be a very stressful and unpleasant experience. Anything you can do to help us avoid this is greatly appreciated. Please note: au pairs should not be outside of the United States for longer than a 3 week period at any one time!!
We have some great travel tips for au pairs here: http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/travel_and_flights/travel_tips.asp
For au pairs planning for travel in the summer, please check out our TrekAmerica partnership, it offers wonderful group trips and a 20% discount for au pairs.
http://www.trekamerica.com/aupairinamerica/au-pair-travel-discounts.html
Have a great week everybody!
