Overview
Personal or domestic servants who are accompanying or following an employer to the United States may be eligible for B-1 visas. This category of domestic employees includes, but is not limited to, cooks, butlers, chauffeurs, housemaids, valets, footmen, nannies, au pairs, mothers’ helpers, gardeners, and paid companions.
Those accompanying or following to join an employer who is a foreign diplomat or government official may be eligible for an A-3 or G-5 visa, depending upon their employer’s visa status.
Qualifications
If you are a domestic employee and wish to apply for a B-1 visa, you must demonstrate that:
- The purpose of your trip is to enter the United States for work as a domestic employee
- You plan to remain in the U.S. for a specific, limited period of time
- Your employer meets certain qualifications
- You have evidence of compelling social and economic ties abroad
- You have a residence outside the United States as well as other binding ties that will ensure you return abroad at the end of your contract.
