Resources

Health insurance card

You have insurance through Aetna.

Click here for more information about your health insurance from Cultural Care.

If you’re sick

In an emergency, go to the hospital.

If you need to find a doctor, it is important to find one that works with Aetna insurance. This means that the doctor(s) your host family sees may not accept your insurance, so while they may love the care they receive, you might need to go somewhere else.

You can submit a case using your au pair application for more information directly from Cultural Care about finding health care options within network.

You can also reach out in the group chat(s) locally and for Colorado in general if you feel comfortable, or you can post anonymously on local Facebook groups saying  “Louisville, I am looking for a doctor that specializes in XXX who accepts Aetna insurance. Does anyone have recommendations on who they really like working with or who to stay away from?” Finding a doctor that is covered in your insurance will be cheaper and easier for you.

Walk-in and urgent care clinics will most often accept Aetna.

King-Soopers walk-in clinics accept your insurance

You can check to see if an urgent care near you accepts Aetna

You can always call 1-800-783-7447 to confirm your coverage.

What you pay

When you see a doctor, you will pay a co-pay. That cost depends on if your provider is in or out of network

See the above link for more details about what you can expect to pay.

You will always pay your prescriptions when you receive them, then you will file a claim to get your money back (a reimbursement). Be sure to keep your receipts from prescription so you can file your reimbursement claim.

Submitting a claim

If you see a doctor who does not accept your health insurance (or for all prescriptions), you will need to submit a claim.

You can submit a case using your au pair application for more information on reimbursement.

The DS 2019 document is what you brought to your embassy appointment, and it should remain with your passport and visa always. It is the document that you used to get your visa. This is the document you need to enter into the US, so any time you leave (like for vacation) you need to bring it with you.

You are allowed to work and go to school in the US using your J1 visa. This visa essentially says you are allowed to be in the US for the purpose of work as an au pair and to complete some schooling. Once you use your J1 visa to enter, you get I-94 document. 

This is different but related to your visa because the I-94 is a status document, so it shows that you are legally allowed to be in the US. A visa lets you into the US, an I-94 shows that you are allowed to stay in the US/ that you can re-enter the US. 

The I-94 document was filled out when you arrived in America, and you may have a paper copy already, but if not you can print a copy here.

It is important to get your social security card 2 weeks after you arrive in the US. Wait for 2 weeks to ensure your travel information is all current in the government work visa system! Your SSN allows you to pay taxes at the end of your stay so that you remain in compliance with the program. 

The link to the application is here.

You can walk into the office (you are not allowed to make an appointment, they only accept walk-ins). The nearest location is the Louisville, CO office which is at 480 Dahlia St, Louisville, CO, 80027. 

The online application will also give you this information, but you should be prepared to bring:

- Passport(s)

-Visa

-DS 2019 (you should have this document from Cultural Care, it is what you brought to your embassy appointment, and it should remain with your passport and visa always!)

-I-94 (this document was filled out when you arrived in America, and you may have a paper copy already, but if not you can print a copy here).

-Social Security letter from Cultural Care (Log into your au pair Cultural Care account → click menu → click documents → scroll to bottom to “program support documents”)

After your appointment, you can expect your SSN card to arrive within two weeks. When you get this piece of mail, save the envelope and the insert that shows the envelope was addressed to you because you can use it in the future as “proof of residence” for other important steps you will need to take, like getting your drivers license and opening a bank account.

Your SSN is very important! Do not throw it away or give out your number to others. If at any point in your life you move to the US or work for a US company, you will need this number. You only get one SSN and it is very difficult to get again if you lose it!

As an au pair, you are legally allowed to drive with your international drivers license for the first 90 days, then you must get a Colorado drivers license. To get a license, you need to follow all of the steps outlined below. The process will be a bit different depending on your home country, so follow the instructions carefully, and know that the experiences of other au pairs getting their license may be different from your own.

German and French au pairs do not require a written or a behind the wheel driving test, but all others do! 

Check in with your host family about whether they will help to cover the costs of obtaining your license. If you are expected to drive your host kids around, then it is expected that your host family cover the expenses associated with your license, either by paying the fees upfront, or reimbursing your receipts. 

Steps

1. International drivers license

2. written test to get your permit

3. physical driving test from a driving school

4. appointment with the DMV

Written Test

You can take the written test online (with a computer that has a webcam) or in the DMV office by making an appointment.

The written test allows you to move from an international drivers license to a permit. You must have a permit before you can schedule a driving skills test.

Click here to complete your online written test. You can retake the exam as needed, and there is a small fee associated with taking the written test. 

Click here to schedule your written exam. The DMV can be very busy and sometimes it takes several weeks to get an appointment. There are several DMV offices that serve our general area, and you may check at multiple locations to see if one can schedule you sooner than another. If you live in Louisville or Lafayette, the closest offices are as follows: Boulder, Longmont, Westminster, and Northglenn (all within 20-30 minutes). Once you select your location, select “written test” as the appointment type. 

Driving Skills Test

The DMV office does not offer driving skills tests (where you drive with an instructor to show you know how to follow signs, drive well, etc.) but you must complete a test to get your license!

Click here to see a list of driving schools that you can go to for the test. You can (but do not need to) take a course from one of these companies, and most will allow you to take only a driving skills test. 

You can ask your host family to help you to schedule this at a time and location that works for you and them. The driving school will provide you with a “drive test completion form” when you pass the exam. You will bring this form with you to the DMV.

Drivers License Appointment

You must make an appointment to confirm your documents, driving skills test, and written test results.

If you did the online written test, you should click here to schedule your final appointment.  If you live in Louisville or Lafayette, the closest offices are as follows: Boulder, Longmont, Westminster, and Northglenn (all within 20-30 minutes). Once you select your location, select “first time CO DL/ID/Permit” as the appointment type. 

Regardless of whether your written test was online or in person, for this final appointment you should bring:

- Passport(s)

-Visa

-DS 2019 (you should have this document from Cultural Care, it is what you brought to your embassy appointment, and it should remain with your passport and visa always!)

-I-94 (this document was filled out when you arrived in America, and you may have a paper copy already, but if not you can print a copy here)

-Social Security Number, or if you have not received this yet, then your letter from Cultural Care (Log into your au pair Cultural Care account → click menu → click documents → scroll to bottom to “program support documents”)

-Program Participation Letter (Log into your au pair Cultural Care account → click menu → click documents → scroll to bottom to “program support documents”)

-Proof of Address, for example, your program participation letter, plus any piece of mail that is certified and addressed to you, like the envelope you got your SSN card in, or a piece of mail that you send to yourself (you can go online to the post office and order some international stamps to send letters home and use that envelope to show proof of address!)

After completing these steps, you should get a paper that confirms you have a Colorado license, and you should keep this with you until your official license arrives in the mail. 

Other Driving Information

Au pairs, please remind your host family that you may not drive (even with a license) without being added to the car insurance policy!

In addition to knowing how to buckle each child into their car seat, au pairs should know how to clip and unclip car seats in the car in case of emergency.

Before taking the car, learn how to pop the gas cap, lock the car (if there is a button or sensor) , open the trunk (if you can be within proximity to the car to open it especially!), and know what kind of gas the car should get!

You can and should ask that your host family goes with you for this process! It can be a bit difficult, and different banks will have different processes. Some general notes: 

If you are 25 or younger you can get a free student checking account. 

Au pairs over age 25 will need a different type of account even though you are here on a student visa technically.

If your host family has an established relationship with the bank or credit union, they are more likely to not require a social security number, but this is totally case by case! 

You should plan to bring all of your documents: 

-Passport(s)

-Visa

-DS-2019 

-I-94

-International and (if you have one) local drivers license

Student accounts can usually be opened by Chase, US Bank, and Wells Fargo without an SSN

When you open your account, it is wise to set up an automatic weekly transfer with your host family while you are both at the bank together if you’ll be paid via direct deposit.

Review the resources provided by Cultural Care

Outline for house rules

List family duties/ rules first! Remember that cultures vary ALOT, so there are probably parts of daily life that you (as the host family) will expect your au pair to contribute to not because you pay them but because they are part of your family! Listing these “family duties” can help your au pair understand how to be part of your family first, and then learn what things are part of their job. Some examples of family duties (things you expect your au pair to do both on and off duty) might be:

-Unloading the dishwasher

-Unloading groceries from the car

-Setting the table/ getting drinks for the family for dinner

-Cleaning up after a family meal 

-Do you trade who cooks and who cleans? Do you all clean regardless of who cooks? 

-Taking the compost/ recycling outside

-If the dog scratches at the door, let the dog out 

You can’t expect any pet related care directly, like feeding, walking etc. but you can absolutely ask that they let the dog into the yard, take them out of the kennel if they are the first person home/ put the dog in the kennel if they are leaving, etc.

As you talk about rules, talk about values! Explaining the why behind the rules is very helpful, for example “we value nature, so every day that weather allows, we want you to take the kids outside at least part of the day” or “we value screen free time, so when we eat dinner, we always leave our phones in the front hall”.

It’s ok to leave some rule areas “open ended”, but set a specific time to review them again. For example, if your au pair is new to driving in the US, saying “we want you to always ask about using the car beforehand for now, and once we have more experiences of you driving in the weather, at night, etc. we can re-evaluate”.

While some sets of rules are really useful and necessary, the best way to establish a great relationship is to make an effort to do things/ get to know your au pair so that you trust them and their judgment. For example, as a family, in the first weeks and months you may have a rule that you need to approve all visitors, and that your au pair can use the car on weekends, but cannot drive more than xx miles away. You may come to a point where you’ve met enough of your au pairs friends, and you trust them with driving and making sound decisions that you revisit the rules and say, “look, we trust you with our kids, and we have enjoyed getting to know your friends and seeing that you are exploring lots of fun places on your free time, and we’d like to offer to you that you can bring any friends you’d like over, though we still want notice we don’t need to vet or approve them first, and you can use the car for longer trips.”

Cultural reminders

**If you have other ideas to add to this list please let me know!!

In your household rules you will want to include some pieces about how our culture is different from others. Some things you may want to include (but that you probably won’t think of) are:

-In the US we always keep milk in the fridge

-It is not customary to let children sleep in strollers outside of a store, this in the US is dangerous and you can get in trouble

-We keep doors/ windows locked when they are closed

-We don’t answer the door unless we know someone is coming because there are too many solicitors

-We have a dishwasher, but we hand wash these specific items. Here’s how to use the dishwasher 

-We have a dryer, but we don’t put XXX in it because it will shrink

-Public restrooms are always free, but some restrooms that are in stores you must buy something to use the bathroom

-When the temperature is XX, we use sweaters, XX also gloves and hats, XX we don’t go outside to play at all

-While at the grocery store, the shopping carts are always free to use

-There are different types of gas for cars. Our car uses XXX, and if you put YYY in the tank it will ruin the car, so don’t always just put the cheapest option into the tank!

Click here for the official Cultural Care guide on handling your taxes. This guide is pretty comprehensive, but it is still best to have some help when filing taxes! Reach out with any questions you have, and if there are enough people interested we can have a meeting specifically for filling out tax paperwork (super fun I know!)

Click here for the official IRS webpage for au pair taxes specifically.

Travel for au pairs is different in the first year than it is in an extension period, so please make sure you are using to applicable information!

Here is the Cultural Care guide for first year travel.

Second year travel is more complicated. You must renew your J1 visa before travelling to some places. In order to renew your visa, there are certain things that must be completed. Here is the Cultural Care guide for second year travel. Reach out to me with specific questions as soon as you know you will be wanting to travel to one of the countries where visa renewal is required.

As an aupair, you can choose to extend your stay in America by 6, 9, 0r 12 months.

You can choose to rematch to another family for your extension year or stay with your current family.

One of the most important components of extending your stay is ensuring that your educational requirement is met in time, because your visa extension cannot be processed without that. Click here for more information about the educational requirements for extending in general, look on your application to see your deadline for completing your educational credits.

You must be in the US for at least 4 months before you can apply to extend.

To extend, you do not need your courses to be finished, but you do need to show proof of enrollment and your enrollment must show that your classes will be finished at least 33 days before your visa expires!

If you are thinking about extending, you should reach out to me and we can set a time to talk more about the process. Around the six month mark, I will reach out to both host families and au pairs to check in about how both parties are feeling and whether extending seems like a possibility.

Complete this in the courses section of your application.