Jill Shapiro

Oscar is a male au pair from Mexico. He is 20 years old and has several years of childcare experience. He is an athlete- played professional soccer. He is a great driver and has had a driver’s license since 2007. He is looking for a new family to care for their children ages 5 and over for the last 5 months on his current visa. He would be willing to extend as well. He is very responsible, friendly and reliable. Please contact me if you are interested. If interested, please contact this posting.

The English Language Academy at Harcum College will present an Information and Registration Session on Thursday, August 4, from 6:30 pm - 8:00 p.m. in Room 104 (first floor) of the Academic Center. In the past, these information sessions were helpful to aupairs new to the education system in the U.S. Remember, all au pairs need to complete 72 hours of education at an accredited college or university during their 12 months as an au pair, and are given up to $500 for this educational requirement.

We are offering daytime courses in the skill areas of Writing, Reading, Grammar and Oral Communication. Evening classes will be TOEFL prep and a new course called “What’s Cookin”? that involves the relationship between food and culture.

The English Language Academy offers both full and part-time courses in English as a second language.  Please note the tuition and fees for part-time study are listed on the attached schedule. Students may choose one course or a combination of courses to meet their particular needs.

Enrollment in the ELA is held six times throughout the year. The back of the application form lists additional enrollment dates.  We are now accepting applications for the Fall sessions listed below:

Daytime class dates -

15 weeks -   August 29 - December 9   8 weeks -   August 29 - October 21

8 weeks -   October 17 - December 9

Evening - IBT TOEFL Prep   M/W   7 - 9 pm    (9/26-11/9)

“What’s Cookin’?”   T/Th   7 - 9 pm    (9/27-11/10)

Harcum offers a special package plan for aupairs that allows them to audit a college course for $150 if they enroll in an English Language Academy course.  The number of class hours they can accumulate by combining ELA and college courses may satisfy the required hours for the J-1 visa.  Please see additional information for aupairs at www.harcum.edu  

If you would like more information about our program, please contact (610) 526-6116, or send an e-mail to: elaharcum@harcum.edu.

http://www.harcum.edu/englishlanguageacademy.aspx

How do I get my PA drivers license?
Follow these steps to obtain your Driver’s License in the state of PA.
After reviewing these steps, please click on the PA DMV attachment
below. This will give you the most up to date information directly from
the DMV.
1. You need to apply for your Social Security number in order to get
your driver’s license. Either visit my website or visit this link: http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/ssa-hbk.htm
2. Next, you need to get a medical physical done. Print out this form and see a doctor to confirm that you are in good health. http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/dl_forms/dl-180.pdf. Visit the “Find a doctor in the network” link on my home page for physician information.
3. After you get your physical, begin studying for the learner’s permit.
This is a written test that you can take on the computer at a Driver’s
License Center. You can click on this link to practice for the test. http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/young_drivers/crossroads.shtml
4. Visit a Driver License Center with: * The completed DL-180 * Your visa,
your passport, and 1-94 * Two acceptable proofs of residency, listed on
reverse side of DL-180, if you are 18 years of age or older. * Your
Social Security card. * A check or money order payable to PennDOT for
the appropriate fee. (Cash is not accepted.) Fact sheet for foreign
applicants: http://www.dot3.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/pub195nc.pdf
5. After you get your permit, you can schedule your driver’s license exam.
This test will be in an actual driving test in a car. Call 1-800-423-5542. Scheduling is usually done several weeks in advance so it is important to start the process early.
6. Check out page 8 of the PennDot fact sheet that is located on this website (under the PA driver license information heading).

While the au pair program has always been one of the most affordable child care options for families, Cultural Care has made it even more accessible to Pennsylvania families by offering a payment plan option that allows families to pay the program fee in monthly installments.
Under our monthly payment plan (MPP), a family’s payment schedule would be:

v      Application fee of $75
v      Selection fee of $275 due upon finalling
v      $1495 + domestic transportation fee, due 30 days before the au pair’s arrival
v      8 monthly installments of $760, starting 1 month after the au pair’s arrival

Any eligible discounts would be applied to the final payment of $760 except applicable application fee waivers ($75). Please note, the discount cap in Pennsylvania, should you choose this payment plan is $500. As always, referral discounts do not apply to the maximum discount amount, but will also be applied to the final payment.
Only new and repeat families in Pennsylvania are eligible to partake of this program.   For more information please contact me.

Anna, Josi & Johanna

Those who went ice skating had a blast!!!

If you need to get a physical for your PA driver’s license, these are two options that you can go to in order to have the form completed:

Greater Philadelphia Health Action

Or other Pennsylvania health centers

Cultural Care Au Pair has recently hired managers in Bangkok & Shanghai and will be recruiting au pairs in China & Thailand soon. We expect to see applicants available to arrive in the US by Summer 2011.

Cultural Care Au Pair has the largest selection of au pairs in the industry. We are the only au pair organization to recruit each of our au pairs exclusively through our own established worldwide network staffed with full-time employees. This gives us full control and immediate visibility into the screening and preparation process in every recruitment country. Most agencies outsource their recruitment efforts to independent agents.

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 10USD for sending a DS-2019 form by Federal Express within the US, and 20USD for sending overseas. The au pair may pay by check or credit card.
Also, always check with the country you are visiting to see if a visa is required for entry.

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.

Previously, au pairs did not need to send the DS-2019 form in if they were traveling to Canada or Mexico. While this has not changed, some au pairs have had trouble at the border because the form was not signed. Therefore, it is advisable that all au pairs send in the DS-2019 form, even when traveling to Canada or Mexico. 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 ay pair needs a tourist visa: National Institute of Immigration Mexico
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 13th 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 13th month
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Common Situations – Q & A
Q: What if the dates on the au pair’s visa are different than the au pair’s actual arrival into the country?

A: Often the issue date on the visa will be a few weeks earlier/later than the au pair’s actual arrival date into the U.S. This not a problem, as the au pair’s legal stay in the country is determined by the dates on the DS-2019 form (which is stamped with the actual entry date), not the visa. However, travel in and out of the United States is determined by the dates on the visa, not the DS-2019 form.

Q: What if the au pair needs to leave the U.S. immediately due to an emergency?

A: Advise the au pair to overnight the DS-2019 form to Boston with the dates of her trip, as well as her address and telephone number in her home country. A Responsible Officer will sign the DS form and FedEx it to the au pair in her home country so she has it in time to return to the U.S.

Q: What happens if an au pair travels outside of the U.S. without her/his DS-2019 form?

A: The au pair will most likely be allowed back into the U.S., but her visa status will be changed to a 30-day tourist visa. She will be given the form I-515A by the immigration officer at the port of entry. She will need to complete this form and send it along with her original DS-2019 form and her original I-94 card to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services. This process usually takes approximately 4-6 weeks. The au pair should always contact the Boston office if they traveled without the DS-2019 form and have received the form I-515A.

tax-information-finalHere is a useful sheet to answer any questions you may have regarding filing income taxes.

Please refer to this fact sheet for all of your health insurance questions.insurance_fact_sheet