Types of Visas
Personal and Domestic Employees
We are providing the following information to ensure you meet U.S. requirements to bring a personal or domestic employee to the U.S. A personal or domestic employee is someone who accompanies or follows to join their employer for temporary travel to the U.S. The employee must have a residence abroad that he or she has no intention of abandoning and must have been employed abroad by the employer for at least one year prior to the visa application. During the visa interview, employees will be interviewed privately and separately from their employers or employer’s representative. Employees will be expected to discuss their work history and terms of employment in the U.S. The employer must provide an employment contract signed by the employer and employee that complies with U.S. labor laws and states following: 1. The employee is guaranteed the prevailing wages in the United States, free room and board, and the employer will be the only provider of employment to the employee. 2. The employer must pay the domestic employee’s initial travel expenses to the United States, and subsequently to the employer’s onward assignment, or to the employee’s country of normal residence at the termination of the assignment. 3. The employee will work only 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week with 2 days off for the weekend. If the employee works more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week, the employee must be compensated 150 percent of the prevailing wage. 4. The employee will work only for his/her employer. 5. The employee will have freedom of movement and will not be restricted to remain with the employer on weekends and holidays. 6. The employee’s passport will remain with the employee and will not be held by the employer. 7. The employee must acknowledge that they have received the hotline telephone number used to report the abuse of domestic help in the U.S. (1-888-373-7888) and that they know how to call for emergency services in the U.S. (9-1-1).
The current prevailing wage in Washington, D.C. is $8.39/hour, Boston $9.23, New York City $10.23/hour, Houston $6.81/hour, Miami $7.42/hour, Chicago $8.39/hour, Cleveland $8.21/hour, and Los Angeles $8.78/hour. For information on the prevailing wage in the area of the United States where you will be visiting, please go to: www.flcdatacenter.com. Printable versions in english and arabic: - Personal or Domestic Employees - English.pdf - Personal or Domestic Employees - Arabic.pdf Note: If your domestic employee can not read english or arabic the contract must be translated into their native language.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR A-3, G-5, H, J, and B1 Domestic VISA APPLICANTS On December 23, 2008, then-President George Bush signed into law the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (WWTVPA) of 2008. The Act requires that an individual applying for an A-3, G-5, B1 domestic employee, J1, or certain H1B and H2B visas is made aware of his or her legal rights under federal immigration, labor, and employment laws. This includes information on the illegality of slavery, peonage, trafficking in persons, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail, and worker exploitation in the United States. Please read this pamphlet prior to your visa interview. You will be asked if you have received, read, and understood its contents.