EU and UK nannies, do you really want to work in the US on an ESTA or B1/B2 visa with the country’s current immigration policy?
Do you really think US wages are worth taking risks while mass deportations take place in the country?
This isn’t going to be a very popular post but some things need to be said, and they cannot be said otherwise than frankly.
Salaries in the United States are much higher than in Europe and the United Kingdom, so obviously jobs in the US are a huge dream for many EU and UK candidates.
It’s normal for EU & UK Nannies to have heart-shaped eyes when they see that a very part-time after-school nanny job in New York or Los Angeles can pay as much as a very full-time nanny job in Paris or London.
However, it is not normal that so many of these candidates apply there without worrying about visa issues, thinking that because they can go on vacation there with an ESTA or because they hold a B1/B2 visa they can also work there without a proper work visa, ignoring visa requirements or assuming that immigration regulations do not apply to them.
Especially given current immigration policy in the United States.
So many candidates know full well that there is no possibility to be sponsored for the USA, but persist at all costs, ignoring visa issues because of the higher salaries.
Many imagine that parents who are willing to pay $35+ an hour or six-figure salaries are willing to pay those kinds of rates for candidates who are not legally allowed to work in the country.
Of course, it’s not forbidden to dream, but if you want to find work, you have to be realistic.
When salaries are more than decent and so attractive, they are never intended for candidates who are not legally allowed to work in the country. What is always implied is that it is a gross salary, generally paid on payroll.
How can you sign a US contract and get paid on the books when a tourist or business visa does not allow you to be employed in the country?
If it were possible for someone working illegally to earn that much money, everyone would know and would prefer to work illegally…
Working illegally in the US with an ESTA or a business visa is dangerous, for nannies of course, but also for families, especially since the return of the current US president…
We are not claiming that no one works illegally as a nanny in the USA, we just don’t encourage nannies to consider this option.
Unfortunately, many nannies do work illegally in the United States, often because financially they have no other choice, but these nannies do not earn the salaries that all the EU & UK nannies who are trying to get hired with their ESTA or B1/B2 visa dream of. When families are happy to “hire” (if we can say so) a nanny illegally, it’s always to pay less and save money…
Many EU & UK Nannies manage to work in the US without a work visa, usually on short-term contracts because it’s rarely possible long-term without getting caught. Most of the time they earn more than they would at home, but they are paid much less than nannies who are authorized to work in the US. And more and more of them are getting caught at immigration and banned from the country…
When you decide to try your luck in the United States with a simple ESTA or B1/B2 business visa, here is what you need to know and what can happen:
An ESTA is a tourist visa, which allows you to travel to the United States for vacation for a maximum of 90 days.
When you travel to the US with an ESTA, the reason for your trip must be vacation.
If the reason for your trip isn’t a vacation, you must lie to immigration officers to avoid being caught. It often works, but not always…
At immigration, you may be asked for proof that you paid for your holiday flights. If your tickets were paid for by the family you are going to work for, this may seem suspicious and you may be subject to further questioning for this reason. You may also be subject to further questioning for no particular reason, as people are randomly selected for further questioning.
If you are subjected to further questioning to determine your eligibility for entry, immigration officials may request access to all your devices and check your social media, emails, and messages. If they find anything that proves you are traveling for work, you will not be allowed to enter the country and you will never get the salary you were counting on.
When traveling to the US on a B1/B2 visa, more or less the same scenario can occur. You’ll have to prove your ties to your home country, and that won’t be easy if you’re coming to the US with the intention of working illegally…
A B1/B2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1 visa), for tourism (B-2 visa), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2 visa). With this visa you can stay in the United States for a maximum of 180 days per year, but you cannot be employed in the United States under any circumstances.
With a B1/B2 visa, you can accompany your non-US employer during their stay in the United States and work for them during the trip. You can also travel to the United States for vacation for a maximum of 180 days per year, but you cannot live and work in the United States under any circumstances.
Many applicants believe that a B1/B2 visa is a proper work visa, and that they can work in rotational positions, but this is absolutely not the case! Come on, ROTA positions in the US wouldn’t pay so much if anyone with a business visa could fill them.
If you’re caught lying to immigration, you risk being immediately deported back to your country at your own expense! In addition to deportation, you risk hefty fines, the permanent loss of your ESTA privileges, and even being banned from the country! Not to mention the humiliation you’ll endure…
Is $35 an hour or a six-figure salary really worth taking such risks?
Moreover, since the current president came back, sickening things have been happening in the United States, mainly against illegal foreigners, but sometimes against people of foreign origin who are perfectly legal in the country.
In addition to not being aware of the rules regarding visas, some EU and UK candidates seem unaware that the current president is carrying out mass deportations, and that this policy does not only concern people from Central America, South America or Africa.
Immigrants are unjustly turned back at the border, arrested, arbitrarily detained, sometimes convicted, etc.
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) conducts raids against illegal immigrants on the streets or at their workplaces etc. People are protesting across the country against this policy of mass expulsions and the army is sometimes deployed to fight the demonstrators.
For foreigners who are actually going on vacation to the USA with their ESTA, border controls are longer and more extensive.
The Au Pair program, which is virtually the only way to obtain a visa to care for children in the US, is impacted. More documents are required, it takes longer to get an appointment at the embassy, fees have more than doubled to sponsor a J1 visa, embassy checks are longer and more extensive, and many au pairs don’t even know if or when they will be able to start their program.
More and more families prefer to hire a professional nanny rather than an au pair, even if a career nanny is not cheaper. And more and more families prefer to pay a fair price rather than save money by taking risks and “hiring” someone illegally…
Some foreigners who live in the country legally prefer to return to their home country because they are afraid even if they are perfectly legal.
Other foreigners living legally in the United States have problems at the border re-entering the country when they return from vacations abroad.
In New York or Los Angeles, for example, every day there are nannies who are afraid to go to the park with the children they look after, because they are afraid of being denounced, arrested or deported.
And yet, every day, there are EU and UK Nannies who think it is a good idea to apply for nanny jobs in the USA even if they do not have a work visa and are not eligible for one, and who don’t want to understand that they are wasting their time and ruining their credibility by insisting on applying to the US with their ESTA or B1/B2 visa.
Again, is $35 an hour or a six-figure salary really worth taking such risks?
Do you really want to try your luck in the US with your ESTA or B1/B2 visa and be scared when you go to the park with the kids?
If you manage to find a family willing to take the risk of having you work illegally, you will be underpaid, you may not be able to get medical treatment there if you get sick, if you go on vacation to your home country you may not be friends in the country a second time at the end of your vacation etc…
Okay, the lust for money can make you do some not-so-glorious things, but you can’t claim to be a top candidate and want the best jobs if you apply abroad without even considering the visa issue or even checking the news in the country where you want to work. Good candidates understand visa issues and accept when there is no possibility of sponsorship.
When you see a nanny job in Kurdistan, or other “unsafe” countries, that pays 10K net per month, you don’t apply because you have questions about visas, contracts etc. and you think about your safety. Why don’t you do the same thing when it comes to a job in the US, because it’s not easier to go to work there and it’s not safer to work there without the right visa?
It’s frustrating for EU and UK Nannies to see that in the US the wages are so high and not have access to these opportunities, but that’s how unfair the industry is!
Nannies, please only apply where you are authorized to work. Don’t take any chances even if you get heart-shaped eyes when you see the salary!
