scrubbedexpat099

I was wondering the same.

PS a B is a very long shot for very obvious reasons.

Nutmegger

It came up because the Philippines does not participate in the VWP, so she needs a visa in order to visit, regardless of whether she works or not?

scrubbedexpat099

PI will never be a VWP country, why do you mention it?

Obviously bringing in child care help from overseas can be financially attractive but not top of the list for US to provide work visa's for.

Nutmegger

The prospective visitor/nanny is from the Philippines.

tom169

Obvious reasons?

Twinkle0927

She can visit (and I am with Pulaski in that she has a reasonable chance of getting a B-2 - every day planeloads of Filipinos arrive in the USA with visitor visas so there is a realistic chance of her getting one) but she won't be able to work for them. To get an au-pair J-1 visa she'd have to go through an agency and be placed by the agency. You can't get the J-1 to work for family and friends. This is done to stop people using a J-1 to bring siblings in and avoid the lengthy F-4 wait.

B-1 with EAD is an option for domestic workers of USCs but only if the USCs are permanently based overseas and are coming back to the USA for a visit. For example a USC family in Singapore that employs a Filipino maid are coming to the USA for a month to visit family etc and want to bring the maid with them for her to continue her duties for them whilst here. It doesn't work if the USC family is already living in the USA.

crg

There are 80+ million Filipinos and it's a relatively impoverished country. They may or may not get the visa.

In my experience, Manila is quite discerning in who they issue a visa to. The middle of the road denial rate may be due to the local perception that one should not bother to apply unless clearly eligible.

https://www.thecleverfilipina.com/my...-denial-story/

"My experience with the US Embassy in Manila is bitter sweet. I applied for my US tourist visa, 5 times. Denied 4x before I finally got the “matamis na Oo (Sweet YES)” of the US Consulate."

Rete

There is no harm in her applying for the B-2. If she gets it, great. If not, then no harm, no foul.

If successful, she comes to the US and she visits with her family. As the host, it is customary for the host to pay for their accommodations and food, so no money, outside of what financial obligations the host has for his invited guest, is exchanged or paid.

If the guest is agreeable to taking the kids to the pool over the summer visit and to the park or just sitting about watching cartoons, this, too, is within the normal sphere of what a guest would do while visiting and staying at your home. If you give her money to pay for lunch for herself and kids while they are out, that's normal as well isn't it.

What you can't do is give her a salary for childcare. That is unlawful.

I was visiting my daughter in NY last week. She cooked dinners and breakfast and paid for the food herself. She offered to reimburse me for taking my granddaughter to the movies or out for lunch while I was there. I spent her working hours with my granddaughter and it was not considered childcare but what occurs between grandmother and grandchild. Would not the same be said of a cousin involved in the lives of her American cousins while visiting in their home.

The visit is for a limited timeframe and should be classified only as a family visit. I'm sure that the niece-in-law will be touring parts of the country on her own without the kids or their parents in tow.

Pulaski

There are elements of truth in your post, but you still overlook the fact that visas to visit family are significantly more likely to be approved than "random" applications for a B2 tourist visa.

Additionally, in this case, the possible applicant is reported to be well educated, with a degree and therefore unlikely to be interested in long term work as a domestic servant or cleaner, or other casual employment of the sort that visa overstays/illegal immigrants stereotypically seek out.

GeoffM

Wow. To address some points:
- She has no ties to the Philippines beyond a job that I can think is a tie rather than a whim. Not helpful.
- My mention of working was because I assumed she would have to be. Englishmum's post reminded me of long term nanny visas (H2B I think) but this is a 4-6 week visit. Rete's reply about what you can do on a B2 would work for us, if (not doubting her, just want to be squeaky clean) that is all true (taking kids to the park, small expenses, food etc).
- My very anecdotal observations of a handful of people who I know overstayed is that parents are more overstayers than young adults. Probably not representative though one of the reasons behind make sense: parents are probably retired and quite happy looking after their grandkids.
- She would be with us nearly all the time.
- The kids went to my mum's in the UK last year. It was for a month but by the time the parents were entertained for a week here, then I had to go the UK to pick them up, we didn't have much time as a couple in the end!
- My son is autistic and can't have a regular babysitter. He's 10yo and has never had a sleepover, bar one when he was brought home at 2am because the parents couldn't cope. We can't afford summer camp, though there are a tiny handful that *might* take him (even the special needs camps can and do reject potential campers if they feel they won't be a good fit), and might be able to secure some financial assistance.
- We get some respite care every month from Regional Centers. I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth but some of the people the agency send only seem qualified to drive a phone while slouched on our couch - the good ones are, of course, in high demand.

Thanks.

GeoffM

"This message has been deleted by Noorah101. Reason: We aren't in the visitor's head to know what she wants to do."

She doesn't even know I'm enquiring at this point.

Noorah101

Hi GeoffM,

I, for one, was confused because it sounded to me like you specifically wanted to employ her, which requires a work visa. If she's just coming over to see the family, that's not employment, that's just a B-2 visa. Can't predict her chances of getting one, but for sure zero if she doesn't apply.

Rene

GeoffM

Well... I guess I'm unsure where the line is drawn between helping out and actually "working"! About 2-3 days a week depending on the wife's rota during the summer the kids will be off school with the need for supervision. I work from home so I'm here anyway, just not directly entertaining them. So she would be keeping an eye on them and hopefully suggesting games/activities.

That sounds like work, but then she wouldn't have responsibility for the kids (I'm in the house, still preparing their lunch and able to step in if DS has a meltdown), so I don't know! Opinions welcomed.

The situation didn't arise when the outlaws visited as I shifted my working hours to when they were in bed, or to weekends if my wife was off. But my work suffered so I don't want to do that in the future.

scrubbedexpat099

That is work.

Very generous of her to spend all that money and time to fly over and do it btw.

Pulaski

You need to think more carefully how you present the information. .... "Your niece is coming to visit her uncle, aunt, and cousins. She will be spending time with the whole family, and spending some time playing with her cousins. She may help out in the kitchen, as many people do when staying with family. She won't have "assigned hours" because she is just visiting. You and your wife will be around a lot of the time, but not necessarily all of it."

This would be true irrespective of whether you even have children, and again is typical for people visiting family. None of that is work, and just because you provide food for her, and a bed, or lend her a car, or take her with you for meals out or visits to nearby national parks, doesn't mean you have "paid" her. ..... Or at least if it does I am screwed, because most of that describes what happened when my mother came to visit! .... Apart from the bit about lending her a car! My mother can't drive.

If you really want to dress up the situation to make it look like you have hired her and she is working for you, then it is certainly possible, but nothing you have said makes what you are proposing is any different from what tens of thousands of people do every year in the US - relatives visit the US and come to stay, and spending a significant amount of time with their young relatives, not always in the presence of the children's parents, and that is not of any concern to either the USCIS nor the IRS!

Are you really that socially ignorant, or were you raised in a orphanage staffed by cyborgs?