Embassy of the United States Athens, Greece

Which employers qualify to take an alien domestic to the U. S. in non-immigrant status to work for them during a temporary stay?

• U.S. Citizens who reside permanently abroad and are visiting the U.S. temporarily or who habitually reside abroad in foreign service but are assigned to the U.S. temporarily and returning for a stay of no more than four years.
• Non-immigrant aliens (bearers of B, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, or Q visas) who apply for temporary admission to the United States.

Legal Permanent Residents of the United States  (“Green Card” Holders) Are Not Entitled To Bring To Nor Employ Non-Immigrant Alien Domestic Employees In The U.S.

How does the domestic qualify for this special non-immigrant visa?

Each domestic employee applying for a non-immigrant visa must meet the following conditions:

1. The employee has a residence abroad which he or she has no intention of abandoning;
2. The employee can demonstrate at least one year’s experience as a personal or domestic employee;
3. The employee has been employed abroad by the employer as a personal or domestic employee, for at least one year (6 months for employees of American citizens) prior to the date of the employer’s admission to the United States; OR the employer can demonstrate that he or she has regularly employed personal or domestic employees for several years preceding the employee’s application for a B-1 visa;
4. The employer and the employee have signed an employment contract which guarantees: payment of the minimum or prevailing wages, whichever is greater; free room and board; that the employer will be the only provider of employment to the employee; and that the employer will pay the domestic’s initial travel expenses to the United States, and subsequently to the employer’s onward assignment, or to the employee’s country of normal residence at the termination of the assignment.

Applicants who wish to apply for domestic employee’s visa must come in person to the U.S. Embassy.  To schedule an appointment, please click here

Documents required for B1 domestic employee’s visa are:

1. A valid passport that has been signed by the applicant and, where applicable,
   
   • Previous passport with previously issued visa or
   • Police report in case of theft or loss of a previous passport with valid visa.  The report may be issued by a local police station or consular office or other foreign authority.
   • If you have ever been arrested and /or have a criminal conviction, have a medical ineligibility, or have been denied entry into or deported from the United States, you will be required to furnish documents relating to your situation in support of your application.
2. The paid duplicate receipt from Piraeus Bank (see step 3).
3. The printed confirmation page containing the barcode generated by the DS-160 online application form (see step 4).
4. One photograph that meets the required specifications (see step 5). Even if you have successfully uploaded the photo to the DS-160 please bring one with you on the day of your appointment.

Additionally

Domestic Employee of U.S. Citizens on Temporary Assignment in United States should present the following:

• Proof of employment abroad by the employer as a personal or domestic servant for at least six months prior to the date of the employer’s admission to the United States; or evidence the employer has regularly employed a domestic servant in the same capacity as that intended for the applicant;
• Evidence of employment as a personal or domestic servant for at least a year;
• Original contract or a copy of the contract, to be presented at the port of entry, which contains the original signatures of both the employer and the employee;
• A contract specific for this trip, signed and dated by the employer and employee, containing length of stay in the United States, and a guarantee from the employer that the employee will receive the minimum or prevailing wages www.flcdatacenter.com whichever is greater for an eight hour work-day.  The employment contract shall also reflect any other benefits normally required for U.S. domestic workers in the area of employment, and the employee need not give more than two weeks notice of intent to leave the employment.

Personal Employees of Foreign Nationals in Nonimmigrant Status should present the following:

• Evidence of employment as a personal or domestic servant for at least a year;
• Proof of employment abroad by the employer as a personal or domestic employee for at least one year prior to the date of the employer’s admission to the United States; or
• If the employee-employer relationship existed immediately prior to the time of visa application, proof that the employer has regularly employed (either year-round or seasonally) personal or domestic employees over a period of several years preceding the domestic employee’s visa application for a nonimmigrant B-1 visa;
• A signed employment contract (pdf 184kb)which contains statements that the employee is guaranteed the minimum or prevailing wages www.flcdatacenter.com, whichever is greater, and free room and board, and the employer will be the only provider of employment to the employee. The contract must contain signatures of both the employer and the employee;
• The employer must pay the domestic’s initial travel expenses to the United States, and subsequently to the employer’s onward assignment, or to the employee’s country of normal residence at the termination of the assignment.

How to determine prevailing wage and other employment requirements?

For information regarding prevailing wages in the United States, you can log on the www.flcdatacenter.com and go through the OES SEARCH WIZARD.  Choose the state(s) where you will be, and continue the search by choosing the kind of job.  The following codes are the most used: 37-2012 Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners; 39-9011 Child Care Workers; 39-3021 Personal & Home Care Aides.

In addition to including the correct wage in the contract, employers are expected to understand and comply with all local employment laws that are in effect in any city/state they might visit (for example, some city/states require the payment of overtime when employees work more than 40 hours/week).  To learn what these requirements are, employers should contact the appropriate state Department of Labor using the information available at http://www.dol.gov/dol/location.htm.

Legal Rights and Protections for Certain Employment or Education-based Non-immigrants - Notice: Informational Pamphlet is Now Available!

The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (WWTVPRA) of 2008 was signed into law on December 23, 2008, by the President. The Act makes several changes to non-immigrant visa classification criteria, visa processing requirements, and the grounds for inadmissibility under INA section 212(a)(2)(H).

The changes under this provision of this law, relate to the legal rights of certain employment or education-based non-immigrants under Federal immigration, labor, and employment laws.  Additionally, this law outlines the information to be provided to certain non-immigrants about their rights, protections and available resources.  When working or studying in the United States temporarily, we want to ensure each non-immigrant is aware of his/her rights, as well as protections and resources available. To learn more, review the Non-immigrant Rights, Protections and Resources pamphlet, online version (pdf 252.9KB) or printer double-sided version (pdf 291.3KB).  Information on this topic is also available to nonimmigrant visa applicants in the employment and education-based visa web pages on this site.

Reminder: We always recommend that individuals apply for visas well in advance of their proposed date of travel. No assurances regarding the issuance of visas can be given in advance. Therefore, final travel plans or the purchase of non refundable ticket should not be made until a visa has been issued and you are in receipt of the passport.