My experience with this agency was very disappointing. From the start, we realized how competitive the au pair process is--candidates often juggle multiple interviews (sometimes 8 or more), which makes matching difficult and time-consuming. As a mom, spending hours completing requirements, scheduling, and attending interviews (I did at least 8, lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours each) was incredibly taxing. We waited 2.5 months for our first au pair to arrive. Before coming, she asked us to pay $55 for her luggage from Connecticut to Florida. It wasn't about the money--it was the principle, especially after already paying significant agency fees. After arriving, she stayed in her room for 2.5 days despite our efforts to engage her. On the third day, she left to "explore" and instead flew back to Connecticut. She later texted that she was pregnant and had to leave, abandoning all her belongings. I made multiple attempts over three months to return her things, but she stopped responding, leaving me no choice but to donate them. We then entered rematch and found another au pair from Colombia. One thing I noticed is that rematch profiles rarely reflect any responsibility on the au pair's side--it's almost always framed as the family's fault. That became clearer with our second experience. She couldn't give a clear reason for her rematch, which should have been a red flag. During the 2.5 months she stayed with us, she frequently invited friends and her boyfriend to stay overnight, eat our food without permission, and treat our home like a vacation spot. She had little to no childcare experience and didn't even know how to hold a baby. I had to teach her everything, and she was often not receptive to feedback. She also had habits that became difficult to manage, like taking long mornings for herself and consuming excessive groceries and drinks. We went above and beyond--providing a car, teaching her to drive for two months, and taking her to the DMV multiple times. I even purchased a ticket for her to visit her family in Colombia over Christmas, with the agreement that she would reimburse me if she left early. Later, she requested time off during my busiest work period to go to Las Vegas. When I declined and explained that time off must be approved, she said she would take days off regardless. Shortly after, she falsely claimed that I had yelled at her and chose to leave. When I asked her to repay the flight as agreed, she became aggressive, used profane language, and even called the police claiming I was forcing her to pay for a "gift." After the counselor got involved, she ultimately repaid the ticket. The situation was extremely stressful and left me feeling unsafe in my own home. Our third match initially seemed promising, but after a month of communication and a signed agreement, she backed out, saying she no longer felt safe coming to the U.S. The message felt impersonal and dismissive given the time we had invested. Throughout all of this, the agency provided little to no support. After our first au pair left, we were simply placed back into the general pool with no additional help or priority, despite everything that had happened. In total, we lost nearly $2,000 in non-refundable fees and countless hours of time and energy. This experience was exhausting, stressful, and ultimately not worth it. I would not recommend this agency or the au pair program in general. In my opinion, alternatives like a live-out nanny or daycare are far more reliable and less disruptive. read more

If I could leave a one star I would. If you decide to move forward with this company even after reading this -DO NOT PAY THE FULL BALANCE FOR THE COMPANY FEE. Even though it "saves" you money in the amount you pay. If there is an issue with your au pair and you end up terminating the relationship with Au pair in America early like we did- they will not give you a fair refund. They will calculate that you were in the program longer than you were to drop the amount due to refund. We had paid an additional extension fee of $1260.42 and they won't even acknowledge this amount or answer any questions about refunding that portion. It's approx $3000 that they are trying to withhold from us after we suffered a tumultuous and terrible experience with their au pairs. It's like salt on the wound. I will keep working to get the company to do the right thing but I also don't want any family to suffer a similar issue. Be very circumspect of their applicant pool. We used them years ago when our kids were much younger and it was a very different experience. So sad to see a company take a nose dive like this. read more

I was an au pair here and i was treated like trash. After 2 weeks they through me out of the program unjustified and I was homeless and jobless in a foreign country with zero help. do not take part in this program, they don't care about your wellbeing and take advantage of you. read more

My AuPair was from Peru. Her name is Ingrid. She was rude from day 1 and I saw her in camera just a few days after arrival throwing my baby in the air, screaming at my baby and hitting my baby's mouth. No more words needed. I was left traumatized. She was out immediately. This was in Seattle. read more

During our search for an au pair this agency was recommended. I applied and quickly completed the application. There was no call to set up a home review. When I tried calling to check on the status or emailing, I got no response. The local coordinator was extremely rude when I messaged her and acted as if I was bothering her (this was my first message to her ever). After quite some time I got an email that they wouldn't allow me to host to which I immediately called and emailed asking for an explanation. Zero response despite multiple attempts. The next day I got another email from them about the process. I responded back to that and asked for an explanation from the other person's abrupt email and again, no response. Zero professionalism or support. I'm glad it happened before we had someone living in our home. I can't tell you to stay away enough!! read more

This company is an absolute scam. They take your money and match you with girls that are absolutely not qualified to care for children. They say prepare to spend three days training them on your family routines. Absolute scam!!! The first Au pair we had did not speak or understand a word of English. She put my one and two year old in danger multiple times and I watched on day 4, her almost kill them both my almost getting their stroller hit by a car. She was gone a day later. Incidentally, she disappeared in the US (now illegally) and the agency has asked me twice if I know where to find her. The second was worse than having a sloppy teenager visit. She ate our food, drank our coffee, asked to take the car within three hours of arrival, complained about the amount of data on her sim card and was also a danger to my children. I saw her grab my son (1) by the collar, take him out of the car, put him on the street and get back in the car to get her items, while he ran down the street. She fed my children multiple day old food that sickened my two year old. Twice she left her coffee within reach of the babies and each of my children spilled coffee down them: anytime I asked her to do anything "I am not fluent". I missed 6-weeks of work and income and the agency does not support you at all. This is a fraud and a joke, in our families experience. The reports and screening are fabricated as there is no way either of these au pairs possibly had the experience they claimed. read more

APIA is a joke!!! Au-pairs in rematch get zero support, they are totally on their own. There is no housing arrangement in case that a HF decides to throw their AP out of their house in the middle of the night. I feel heartbroken for these young people. read more

We had an AuPair from this Agency! And we're so disappointed! We had a girl named Ruth coming from Austria, getting access to my personal stuff! Using our credit card unauthorized! The agency didn't get responsive to help us for a rematch! They helped that AuPair to find another family (after all that happened) and left us alone! All they care about is their money! (They promised also those AuPair to meet once a month but the girl in Los Angeles Veronique Roblin (in Los Angeles) told us it's to expensive to do something with the AuPairs! Veronique also disappeared and is non responsive even if she gets the messages and calls about the AuPair still owing us money! Anyways! There are great AuPair Agency's out there as a host family is will not recommend Au Pair und America! Never experienced something like that! And we are running 3 companies by ourselves! read more

Had 2 au pairs that each lasted about 2-4 weeks. We expected a normal 9-5 day shift only M-F. They had evenings and weekends off. They were more interested in spending time in social media when they were supposed to work during the day. At night they would stay up all night chatting with different men they met in different states, and on the weekends they would go out clubbing. We had no problem with that except that they would show up to work the next day with only 4-5 hours of sleep and not arrive on time and they would be sleepy. So their social life was interfering with their ability to work. They couldn't even wake up and go into the next room to start caring for our children on time and would show up late and then ask to have immediate breaks to eat breakfast and get ready. The au pairs made it very clear that their primary interest was dating other men vs providing child care and integrating with the culture in a safe and versatile way. When we provided feedback to the au pairs about not using their phones on the job and showing up on time, they then began to take our children out of the home so that we could not see them neglecting our children. 1 au pair stayed up so late she literally fell asleep on the job after continued feedback that she needs to show up on time ready to work. They also selected very questionable men to date. The bottom line is that the experience felt like we were adopting another teenager and attempting to teach them how to contribute productively to a family and household instead of what we were expecting which was how the program markets these au pairs as "a professional" adult interested in being a nanny and capable of taking care of themself. read more

We've had four wonderful au pairs through the program. They are family to us, and our twins truly enjoy the energy and teachings from their au pairs. They are kind, organized, responsible, and professional. I highly recommend the program. Our current au pair is renewing for another year with us! read more

if you want your children safe DO NOT USE THIS AGENCY!!! We found a girl that we thought was perfect!! Only to find out once she arrived it was all lies! She barely spoke English, couldn't drive and couldn't swim! She wrecked my car into my daughters, refused to clean up after herself, decided she only wanted to watch my children 2-3 hours a day She arrived and it was a nightmare after day 5!! Don't bring an immigrant into your home because it's a liability and your children won't be safe and cared for!!! She also thought it would be a good idea on day 10 to have sec in my house with a stranger and walk around my children in nothing but a thong!! Just don't do it!!! read more

Au pair in America does not go a good job of finding suitable Au Pairs. Our Au Pair from Brazil was only here to take advantage of our family. Day one she requested we get her a new mattress because the brand new mattress was "no good for her back" She then requested a new pillow and a new filtered shower head because the water was no good for her hear. She backed our car into our house causing damages to both. She gave us a bogus story on how it happened. She was upset that we did not provide her with a car that had blue tooth capabilities. And she was not interested in taking care of the children. She barely interacted with us. She continued to try to make demands and when we stopped meeting her unreasonable demands she started talking about our family. We entered rematch where she did not rematch in the allotted time because she is not a good person, but Au Pair in America continued to let her stay in country and violate her visa. Nothing was done, they let her go from family to family. We chose not to rematch because we do not trust the au pairs or the company. Thankfully we got a partial refund. It was a horrific experience. Do not recommend. read more

I have this friend in Brazil trying to get here in US as an au pair. It's her second time being an au pair in the country and she had a WONDERFUL experience with her previously host family, they still in contact and she still talks with the two kids, they love her. She is a mature person; Trustworthy; Currently studying to be a teacher; She is a really good person in general, has the PERFECT personality to be an au pair, BUT it seems to me that Au Pair in American rather make this things difficult for the right people. She already has a MATCH with a family in CA with I arranged everything, she only needs the agency to make it work, BUT again , they rather to make things difficult for both sides! It's a shame! I would never recommend this agency and any other agency to be honest. They all want your money and they don't even do their work properly. What a wast of time. read more

This agency is one of the worst for Au pairs. They don't care about families or Au pairs, only about money and rematches. Even if the Au pair is endangering your child, you have to house them while they do nothing but stare at their phone until you find a replacement ADN you have to pay them and feed them while they are doing nothing at all for you. The agency provides no support and is inept at vetting Au pairs. The Au pairs lie about driving, experience with kids and more, the agency doesn't care or support you as a host family. I do not recommend this agency. Please avoid them if you care about your sanity, home, and kids. read more

If you want to be treated awfully, then by all means apply to be an au pair with this company. This company fails to screen host families appropriately and accurately. They allow for utter disrespect towards the au pairs themselves. They advocate for kicking out au pairs who have no choice but to rematch after being treat disgustingly, and force them to leave the house they are supposed to continue working in until the rematch process is complete. I see no professionalism, fairness or integrity. read more

I have been happy with the au pairs that I identified through Au Pair in America. The concern is the support from the community counselor. There are naturally some small concerns that arise as you have a younger lady living in your home, the problem is that our APIA community counselor took those concerns and very poor translated (and amplified) the feedback to our Au Pair, repeating things shared in confidence and creating a toxic home environment for our family until the Au Pair could be re-matched. I requested a different counselor for our next au pair and it was turned down without an explanation. The agency does not care about the families or the children concerned, our community counselor confirmed that directly. Do yourself a favor and work with another au pair agency, this one is terrible. read more

I am saddened that I need to leave anything less than a 5 star review. We spent almost 6 years with APIA, we stay in touch with almost all of our Au Pairs and had a very wonderful experience. Sadly, their "QA Manager" is one of the worst people we dealt with in our time with APIA. AA was over the top in her rigor when speaking to my wife and drew very unnecessary hard lines and needs a customer service refresher course. The Au Pairs themselves are generally wonderful. Hopefully you do not have to deal with AA. In the event that you do, I am sure you will see why she alone caused us to leave the program. read more

Hi There My name is Stepanka, a friendly/loving girl, who became an au-pair in America. Au-pair in America program is a great fit for both US families and foreign young people who love children and want to experience something unique out of their native country. As an au-pair I met a lot of nice people, I got to go to English school, and also I gained a lot of experience which I have decided to share with all of you and help out with things that every au-pair deal with after her/his arrival. I created a YouTube Channel called "A Pinch of Advice" (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBLcgw6fSnpnLRURzIKDuCw) where you can already find helpful videos and more are coming every month. I can't wait to see you there. Best wishes, Steph :) read more

don't trust this agency, they are all about money. They don't care about au pairs or host families. they will make you empty promises and never deliver. I was promised a refund for fees and sadly am going to have to file a law suit to get it. They placed an au pair in my home clearly without doing any research on this person, and this person left my 14 month old unattended multiple times and they don't care. there are far better agencies to find an au pair do your research read more

We had 3 au pairs in 5 years with APIA. The au pairs were great, the agency was not. We had one au pair who entered the hospital and they would not even send an agency rep to help with translation. This was BEFORE the Covid pandemic. They also were very unresponsive and unhelpful to the au pairs who were having issues with host families according to our au pairs. This company is not one I would ever recommend or use again. read more

Stay away from this agency!! they are racist and only care for your money . Amy Allen (Regional Manager)it's very unprofessional and doesn't return calls nor answers emails after accepting our application we started the search for our aupair and after a couple of months they decided to take us out of the program with no explanations simply wishing us luck. I been trying to reach out to have futher details as to why we no longer qualify for their program and no one answers, meanwhile they kept our money. read more

Please beware that this agency is solely focused on keeping their au pairs happy and could care less about the host families. They allow their au pairs to "Rematch" and abandon families without following the 2-week contractual period. And, they are slow to provide refunds. I had to get my credit card company involved. Fortunately, there are agencies like Agent Au Pair. read more

Horrible experience They recycle au pairs through rematch system. Our au pair attempted to extort money from us and when she could not she asked for rematch. It seems as though the au pairs expect a lot but give minimal. It is like having an enemy in your home. Majority state they are infant qualified but they are not fit to care for an ant better yet your child. All they want to do is eat , facetime and go out. They think they are on vacation. I suspect this us the agencies fault. Steer clear of these disaster girls in your home read more

The company doesn't care about HF and doesn't care about their AP. I have two horrible experiences with AP's the last one left us and when to a similar HF as us, and surprise, she left them 2 months after. She told them that she was living for personal reasons. She ended in another state looking for a nanny job. they didn't told us that we were kick out the program, they never took the time to explain why. We left them know what this AP was doing. And few day later AP. Block me out of every media that we have interactions. never heard an apology or explanation. they even un friend me from Facebook read more

Beware!!! We've tried twice. The first one from South Africa was great to start but it soon became evident she was her to escape due to the upheaval in South Africa. The second was a German who seemed too proud to actually work in spite of interviewing great. We even met the parents. at the end we're out about 20k so Au Pair In America will not lose you will. read more

I tried working with this company which was such a waste of time. They were not interested in helping families in need. They require that you live an hour from where an llc lives. We live an hour and 5 minutes and they refused to help us even when I said we have no options for childcare in our area and I really need their help. After reading these reviews though, I'm so glad we are not working with them!! read more

We have had 3 au pairs from this agency. Our local councilor would give wrong information, belittle the au pair, contradict families wishes, and even told one au pair she would get extra pay for unused vacation without talking to us. I've complained to the regional manager and she still has her job. I've tried reaching out to the new regional manager with no reply. Other families have also complained. We are switching agencies bc they don't have the au pair or families best interest. Any time I've talked to any one in the management sector, they are unprofessional and don't seem to know what they are talking about. read more

I applied to be a host family and the entire application process was disorganized. I reached out multiple times for updates on the process and could not get a response for days at a time. After stating I needed to update my profile with pictures and personal information, I was told they would not work with me and when asked for a reason why I was ghosted. This company is completely unprofessional with communication and professionalism. read more

We've had au pairs from 2 different agencies and I can assure you, the agency doesn't matter -- it's all about the au pair you choose! You should definitely register with different agencies to have access to lots of au pairs and be able to choose the best one for your family. It's kinda like online dating -- you browse profiles, and reach out to the ones you like and want to interview. We currently have a French au pair from Au Pair in America and she is A DREAM. Seriously, the best possible person we could imagine for our 1-year old: she's mature, polite, tidy, funny, has good common sense, and is very caring and generous. We'd like to adopt her so she could stay forever! ;) But she honestly could have come from any agency and we'd be happy. The agency is really just the middleman for the visa paperwork, and they have some local people who will check in with your family once a month to see how things are going and help to resolve any issues. The customer service is pretty equal with any agency you go with. It's all about finding the best au pair! I've had a fine experience working with the APIA staff, but I think we got really lucky with our au pair. Spend lots of time interviewing and trust your gut when selecting someone. Rematching is a possibility but a huge pain in the butt. read more

We had 2 different au pairs come live with us and it was a negative experience all around. The first one was a total introvert and has no business working with children. She hardly talked to them at all, napped almost every single day and basically seemed more concerned with her boyfriend than our two boys. She asked for rematch because we wouldn't let her drive our vehicles, but did have a 2012 Mercedes for her to drive. I guess it was too old for her taste! The 2nd au pair was a sweet girl, but was a 19 year old and much more concerned with how should could get into College in the US than actually caring for children. Not to mention her attire and body language made me and my husband uncomfortable. We told her the rules in our house and the dress code etc, and it hardly improved. We also told the counselor she was basically flirting with my husband and her response was to tell her "woman to woman, men have a hard time controlling themselves." Sorry, but making him out to be a dunder head and pitting us against each other is ridiculous. Having the au pairs gone is a relief and I will never hire one again. The company and the au pairs are much more concerned with what the host families can give them or do for them, and their money. After the second au pair left, we have not heard one bit of follow up from them. I'd get a nanny and avoid the au pair companies all together. read more

Review from an au pair perspective: It makes me very sad reading all those bad reviews regarding APIA. About myself: by now I am above 25 years of age and have stayed with 2 wonderful host families. I stay in touch with both of them, even though we (1st HF and I) went into rematch. Especially my second host family grew close to my heart and I consider all of them as my friends and family and regularly reach out. They even visited me in Germany and I went back to visit them as well. I really found a second family and I love seeing what the kids are up to today (I stayed with them 6 years ago - and like I said: we are still in touch). Within those 6 years I got a pedagogic masters degree at an university in Germany. I am also a return au pair. The agency here in Germany Aifs that looks for the AP candidates for APIA has really strict rules for applying (including medical checkup, official criminal record from the German government, all certificates concerning education, references from previous employers... and the list goes on) and they are very thorough checking all of that (like I said: I can only talk about Aifs and German au pairs and have no idea if other sister agencies in other countries have the same measures as Aifs in Germany has). All the au pairs I met were really interested in children and are loving and nurturing people. It devastates me do read about au pairs lying. You can gain so much while hosting an au pair and also joining a host family. But I feel like some people don't understand the term EXCHANGE which is one of the core values of the au pair program: the au pair will take care of the children, supervise them, love them and play with them; the host family will treat the au pair as part of the family, pay the weekly 'pocket money', provide her with food and a roof over her/their head; and both parties will learn about culture and the languages in EXCHANGE. The host family is also obliged to inform the au pair about education, paying some college courses for her. To those of you who don't understand that concept and are not willing to actually invite a person into your life (not only for a year but for a lifetime) should not consider getting an au pair and get a nanny instead. Useful tips for HF: 1. The au pair has to be choosing you, as much as you are choosing her (it is almost like online dating). Try not to convince her to stay with you if she's hesitant. 2. Both sides are talking to several candidates. The host families may be talking to several au pairs and the au pairs may be talking to several host families at the same time. It's all part of the game and I think it's important that both sides have the option to do so to find the right match. 3. Don't be upset if the au pair is choosing another family (I know that HFs pay lots of money to the agency but that's not the au pairs fault). Do not send angry emails - it is hurtful (and childish). The decision is never personal. Most au pairs (and host families) decide to match due to their gut feeling. 4. Treat the au pair the way you'd want your child to be treated (e. g. if they would go abroad and stay with a family). 5. Do not expect a perfect person do join your household. Expect a loving and responsible one, who takes her task taking care of your children seriously, but not a perfect person. Everyone has some minor flaws - you do too. We are all not perfect. 6. There is a list of questions an au pair will ask you. Google it and be prepared to answer those questions in an honest manner. If you have a partner, figure out the answers together beforehand and be on the same page. Concerning APIA: always helpful. I don't enjoy the matching process though. I wish both sides (Au Pair and host family) had to a agree to match. The automated emails are also horrible, because they only go one way (e. g. interested host families get an information when AP has match BUT AP does not get information about match when the host family decides on someone else). read more

Absolutely horrible experience with the au pairs we were matched with. Both were much more interested in finding a boyfriend than caring for our children. They both met up with absolute strangers online, gave out our address to a man who posted pictures of himself online flashing a gun, and were on their phones all day rather than caring for our infant and paid zero attention to our toddler. The 2nd one fell asleep while watching our baby because she was up all night talking to men online. The agency was communicative while working through these issues, but their solution was just to rematch and send these girls into the rematch pool so they would be connected to other naive families. We will never use an au pair agency again. read more

This agency doesn't even deserve 1 star. All families with males in your home BE CAREFUL. They train their unqualified rats very well how to play big games. Regional managers and so called LCC's just have a tag but they don't know what to do. If you know your job than call and confront host families with issues instead of hiding behind text messages and email. Shame on you! Host families please be careful with these Idiots. Don't leave your kids with these BS unqualified big children. All they need is free food and a room like a hotel. We are not getting au pairs, we getting other people's big kids in our home. We did had very good au pairs from other agencies before and we still are in touch with them. We thought to give this agency a try but oh my, WORST CHOICE!!First Au pair was from South Africa. She was very happy the first 2 weeks and claimed she will stay with us for the second year and also complained to us that the LCC was sending her some dating sites. Everything changed when she went to the cluster meeting. When she came home her attitude was changed, but I couldn't figure out what happened until we spoke to the LCC and we went into rematch. One drama gone after ruining walls in the bedroom and bedsheets. She threw candy wrappers under the bed which I collected after she left. I brought this to the LCC's attention but she said it's wear and tear. Yes, wear and tear as if we have a money tree in our back yard where we can get the money to fix others mess. Second drama queen originally from Thai land but was on rematch in New Jersey. She said very proudly she knew how to cook Thai food and bake, but all lies. She was on rematch due to her driving and being loud. Yes, Lady (May) If you can't see properly why would you want to drive and put poor kids lives in danger? sick in the head. I found out myself that she couldn't see properly when she couldn't clean her own mess. We helped her right away to get her proper prescribed glasses. Things got little sour when I caught her roaming outside without informing us and leaving my 6 year old autistic kid unattended. She said she went around our neighbor hood to click pictures for her friend. I reminded her not to leave my son unattended and since than she became very rude towards my son. I heard her screaming at him all day but when I ask her what happened she use to say oh nothing. My 12 and 14 year old were very disturbed by her behavior towards their brother. They asked me that why is she always screaming at him for no reason. She left my kids hungry at times until we got home and they were starving. My 12 and 14 year old said that she was always on her phone and had ear buds on so they can't say anything to her because her freaking ears are blocked. She also use to leave my son in the closet so she can talk on the phone. My 12 and 14 year old caught her doing that and they told her not to do it but when they saw she was still doing it they brought it to my attention. I gave her a final warning on Thursday, 2/17/22 that if she doesn't leave her phone alone and focus on her work I will cancel her contract. FUN PART: So Miss Thailand went to meet her LCC on Saturday, 2/19/22 and falsely accused the Host Dad. This story was brought to us by a on call regional manager but we never got a call from the LCC and local regional manager regarding this issue. She said she was not feeling comfortable around the host dad and also he touched her butt LMAO, he hugged her and she felt that it was way more than a hug, Haha. Just wondering if the HD touched your butt than how come you didn't scream because you told us that your first Host family complained that you were so loud all the time. When HD and my daughter went to pick you up from the airport, wasn't it you who came screaming and hugged HD. If you meet a family first time and if you have proper values than why would you hug someone whom you have met for the first time. Also If you felt so uncomfortable around the HD than princess from Thailand why were you asking him everyday when would he return home when he was going somewhere also you didn't feel uncomfortable then when twice you came running downstairs when we both were watching TV and you started jumping in front of us shaking your bootie and boobs saying you passed some test? Asking him every day to buy you Starbucks and he became a villain when he stopped buying it for you. HD has 46 females working under him with no issues. We had au pairs who stayed with our family for 2 years and another one who stayed for full 1 year. We were told by other Au pairs how these agencies train them to accuse any male in the home if they don't get their way around. Miss Thai try this nonsense some where else. Definitely this one needs some mental help. Broke the shutters in the bedroom and also the screen outside the window. We are still wondering how she managed to pull the outside window screen inside the bedroom. We as host parents need to be careful from these Psychos! read more

I have the worst experience with Au pair in America. My first red flag was When I picked up my Aupair from the airport and her first question was "When will we go to New York!!" And granted, that is not the agencies fault But I don't believe this agency does anything to vet out there candidates or support their host families. And I'll explain why. My agent wanted us to check in as soon as we got to the house and with her most upbeat energy told me that I could contact her "any time", whenever I have a question or concern, "feel free" to call her. The Agent suggested to have a welcome package for her. I made her beautiful basket with all Bath and Bodyworks products. I took her to target and paid for whatever it is she picked- 200$ worth. I figured if she was happy, she would try to make me happy. She did not. She was on her phone All The Time!! When I showed her my daughters bathroom to clean, she Said "I don't do these tings". I had a graduation party for my 4th grader and even though she was trying to hide from me the whole time, I kept encouraging her to help. I kept calling my agent since she was so enthusiastic about wanting to help but she wouldn't answer any of my phone calls or panic filled texts and I was feeling high anxiety, and extremely frustrated, I even broke into tears cause I felt like I had no one to help with this stranger in my house that was taking full advantage! It wasn't until Monday that I was able to be in contact with my agent and I questioned what all that offering help was about if she wasn't going to be accessible she reiterated that she meant "during business hours only". Now I know that may seem like a no brainer but when someone is constantly telling you that they are there for you no matter what and "just a phone call away", you need to say "by the way, during business hours only". It pissed me off because she should've been more clear about that. I can totally respect that people are not paid to work on weekends nor should they have to. But at least tell me that that's what you meant! When you offer 1 million times call me if you have "absolutely any questions" you should also state "by the way during business hours only". Well, the Au pair complained as well because then my agent was asking me on a separate phone call if I was having her "serve people". I reiterated that it was my sons graduation party and that she was here to help me with my kids and their things. And then she stated that the Au pair is only their to do things for the kids. When I told my agent how the Au Pair was constantly on her phone she told me that I can only ask her to not be on her phone, I can't force her. seriously?? When I complained that the Aupair wouldn't go in the water with my daughter to swim (she said, "No Thank you!"), again the agent reiterated to me that I couldn't force her. What was she here for then? A free ride? A trip to New York? My main frustration was that this agency did not support me one bit. They do not support the host families. They automatically sided with the aupair. They were going to rematch her but I had to give her her stipend and keep her for a full two weeks. She treated me like utter shit those whole two weeks. She didn't lia finger on anything, wouldn't even wash her own dishes. And my agent just kept telling me that I couldn't force her to do anything that she didn't want to do, and then I had to sit there and take it. And that Aupair took complete advantage of the situation. I went to a wedding where my kitchen spotless and when I came back the kitchen was turned upside down. And my agent did nothing to help me. Basically told me I was shit out of luck and that it would be over soon. They rematched her. And I got my money back. This agency made me feel like I was the wrong type of host, when actuality she was not fit to be in Au Pair. She is a privileged girl and comes from higher means and did not want to lift a finger. All she wanted to do was travel. She became friends with a babysitter that I have and kept in touch with her and told her how miserable she was at her next with her next whole family. Oh well. Not my problem. Worst experience ever. read more

Au Pair In America is deeply misleading. We got out of the program when our Aupair quit on us after 8 weeks and only got a 60% refund on Fees. They said the refund would be prorated however a 60% proration when only having been on program 18% of the year is highly misleading and reflects a $2000 penalty. They take advantage of every opportunity to make money off of you. More importantly, we felt like we were being held hostage by our Aupair which is a deeply unpleasant situation to be living with. Don't give the Aupair what she wants and she quits - Then you have no daycare solution which results in a last-minute scramble with deep financial repercussions. Lose - Lose situation. A dynamic that created a lot of stress within the household. It should be noted that Au Pair In America had no issues recycling the Aupair into another host family in spite of obvious mental disorders, Princess personality and blackmail we endured by our Aupair. They have both host families and Aupairs that they well know have no business hosting or working/living with a family but they place them with total disregard to simply generated incremental Revenue. Buyer Beware: Play Aupair Roulette at your own risk! The reality is that you have no way of knowing what type of Aupair you will be getting as they are deeply misleading during their phone/video interviews. read more

We've worked with this agency for almost a decade and sadly, all the things the bad reviews say are true. They're racist, only care about your money, don't do their job of mediation when necessary, mock you if you call in an emergency, make false promises to both families and au pairs. They take more than $10K, create a very toxic environment with "support chats" that are really about trashing host families, so when au pairs arrive they're already very defensive from the start (a difference I found from 6 years ago to now). They allowed our au pair to simply leave and breach her contract. An au pair we've given nothing but kindness and love, with whom we thought we had a great relationship, who decided to leave the program without telling us of them, abandoning my children on the bday of one of them. How are we supposed to trust anyone again? Yet, we need to work. It's a shame. Please, please, please, both as au pairs and as host families stay away from this fishy company! Also, don't think the contract you sign with your au pair has any value, said by them when our au pair breached it: it doesn't! read more

Awful awful company. They take your money, hire LCC that don't really care (neither does upper management)... and recycle au pairs through the rematch system. Agree with previous reviews that candidates can lie on applications and then when they arrive, rematch for no good reason. They will not give you back your money despite rematching with bogus rematch criteria. Buyer beware- find another agency. read more

I consulted with au pair to see about a good nanny for our 2 boys. After registration I saw some of the horrific reviews and decided it was not best for our family. A consultant called me to give me some more information. I politely let her know that it was not a good fit for our family. The consultant then rudely hung up the phone on me. Hahaha, so if that tells you what you need to know about the response you will get - don't use this company. read more

During my search for an AP , I utilized two different agencies so I can compare their cast of candidates. I have hosted 3 AP in the past with Culture Care, so experience tells me to vet candidates and agencies hard. No Agency is perfect. AIP is very easy to get started! AIP also had a large selection of candidates, I was only interested in those with daycare experience and maturity. AIP's website includes videos from the candidates. Look for excessive editing and reading from a script. The language test also is not accurate. I cannot even converse with a candidate they rated as High- Intermediate. This can present a safety issue here if they have to call for help, it also impacts a young child's language development. When you put candidates into the Favorite category, you are not exclusive, other families and also interview them simultaneously. Another agency, InterExchange AP, gives you exclusivity during the interview process which is very good! You setup the interview yourself via email or phone with the candidate , and then conduct a Skype call. I would recommend multiple Skype call over 3 days period. Finding the right chemistry is key. Red flag if the candidate keeps asking about schedule and want to fix schedule to allow free weekends. Sometimes they have a boyfriend here and they're using this as a vehicle to get here to spend weekends with. Last thing you need is an early termination because of their relationship, that's happened to one of my past AP who only stayed for two months. Like all agencies, the agency fee is $8000 range, which gives them a significant profit margin. AIP staff support was not bad but I went with InterExchange this time. Their vetting also provided you the results of a candidate's personality test. The exclusivity during the interview period is also a plus, but that means less candidates maybe available at a given time until they're released from the hold. read more

*** Breach of contract because the au pair was NOT infant qualified. *** The au pair that we were matched with was NOT infant qualified (did not know anything about caring for a baby and had no common sense as a care taker despite 3 full weeks of training by us -- didn't know that you need to support a baby's head, never bathed a baby, etc.), lied on her application (said she watched many babies at an orphanage, when in fact she said that she worked in "fashionables" when she arrived) and once in America (told her counselor that we were forcing her to work more than 45 hours per week and forcing her to clean the whole house -- both 100% false), stole cash from us (cash gifts that we received for baby's birth), and filed a false police report against us (claimed that we stole her iPad -- though we don't have one and never saw her with one either). Despite all of this, we could not get a refund for the big upfront fees paid to Au Pair in America. The counselors are shady, blamed us for the entire situation after hearing the au pair's lies without hearing both sides of the story first, and company/representatives stopped responding. What a scam. After much back and forth, we were finally able to get a partial refund of $5,885, and then another $1,200... leaving us $1,295 short of the amount paid for contacted services. Beware... read more