Au Pair in America Reviews 

My host family ls the best I always feel support of them. Also they teach me about their culture and were interested about mine.

Best company - Best experience of my life! I would do it over and over again!!

I really appreciate the agency!!
My LCC was great and kind person! My experience was perfect too!!

Beeing an AuPair is wonderful but it is nothing what Au Pair in America is advertising it to be. APIA has been set in their ways for years now and refuses to adapt its policies to the new times. The programme lacks innovation and is in desperate need for a makeover. The easiest way I can describe what's wrong with the programme is "false advertisement." That's the big issue APIA needs to adress. They're still selling a lifestyle of Au Pairs that no actual Au Pair can afford unless they are working illegal over time or they already came to the US with lots of money in their bank accounts.
I was an AuPair in the US twice and since they were a few years apart I was able to draw a great comparison. While prices in the US have risen drastically over the past years the weekly AuPair allowance hasn't. Their advertised life style of working as an AuPair to afford traveling the country is no longer realistic/achievable. Instead of selling this utopic AuPair dream that they have been clinging on to for years, they should change their narrative and become more honest about the actual AuPair experience. I have had two wonderful times as an AuPair and I loved the experience. But I feel like the way APIA advertises the programme is simply misleading.
Another frustrating point is their outdated mental health policy. While the rest of the world is learning that mental health matters and therapy is nothing to be ashamed of, APIA refuses to let girls/women into the programme if they are seeking therapy. While I understand that certain mental health problems make you unfit for the programme, they don't even ask what your therapy is for. They simply decide you are not fit for the programme. By upholding these strict therapy rules they are forcing young women to chose between seeking help for their mental health or chasing a dream such as the AuPair life. I was very disappointed when I learned about the outdated views on therapy from APIA. All this is doing is that these young women will not seek the help they need to ensure their place in the programme and I fail to understand how that is in anyones best interest.
So, APIA, please get to work and catch up. It's 2023.

UPDATE after reading the review: APIA definitely does not have authentic marketing. That was my whole point. If you speak with real au pairs who have been living in the country they will all tell you the same: the lifestyle they promore is unrealistic. But ASIA'S reply is exactly what I expected. They just keep repeating the same old stuff and are not at all aware of the faulty advertisement. But after reading the reply I lost hope that the programme will change any time soon. They are absolutely oblivious.

The company made all your document and orientation.

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.

I love being an au pair in my 2nd year ! I didn’t enjoy it as much in my 1st year and yes there is hard days but there is traveling and learning, making amazing friends from all over the world. I really think every single young girl should take advantage of this au pair program and make the best year or two for themselves and grow as a person and learn independence . Working with kids can be really hard but it’s a very rewarding job. Just always remember to stand up for yourself and never be taken advantage from . Always stand your ground ! Kids can get really hard and homesickness is a real thing . I have experienced 1year and 5/6 months of Au pair work so far planning on doing 2years and I had 2 families and completely different! APIA is really one of the best agencies and my experience with them are great . My 2 LCC’s that I had/have is great and will have support. The payment we get isn’t great at all but it’s how you work with your money too.

This agency is one of the best if I have to compare to the others.
Never had a problem with the family but I had a problem with my plane and the agency was super reactive ! They helped to get another flight for the one that I missed.
My host family liked them to. They just don't really explain you how to get your visa.

My experience with Au Pair in America was great. From start to beginning, they where really helpful and supportive with everything and always made sure to have someone listen to me. My counselor (and the one helping out while mine was on vacation) was amazing. So supportive and I could not have wished for a better one(s). Thank your for having such a great experience with you as a organization. They had an open ear for me when things weren't so great and I always knew I could reach out to them.
Thank you!

Trust your gut feeling.
I have few regrets from my year as an au pair. I wish I took more time on choosing my HF, they weren't bad but I didn't feel at home specially after I felt I told them I didn't want to stay for the second year. Also the area I was living didn't have many au pairs close by or people my age.
But I had friends and made some more and it was a wonderful experience.
I do believe there's still a lot of work to do in Portugal so APIA can get more credibility and more au pairs from Portugal.

La mia esperienza con au pair è stata veramente ottimale. Le ragazze sono cordiali, gentili e molto preparate. Attente ad ogni tipo di esigenza e a soddisfare qualsiasi bisogno di informazione.

As most of the other au pairs said ‘IT WAS THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!’. Everyone in the agency is very kind and they guide you every step of the way. You will never be alone. APIA was always my first choice to do this experience away. I’ve been an au pair for two years in a beautiful family, which I’m still in touch with! I love them ❤️ thank you Au pair in America for the fantastic and life changing experience. I will always cherish my memories and my friendships ❤️

It all depends of the family you choose to go with. My LCC in California, Barbara didn’t help at all and she tried to screw me. I never knew why she had that hate towards most of the girls. But I’m very thankful that I could extend to another state and the people, my host family and LCC were incredible. At least they made me feel I can count on them no matter the comments with other intentions from CA.

APIA is a company that sells very well and seems to help host families a lot, but on the au pair side, they are negligent.
How is it possible that you have a person *working* in your house, taking care of 3 and 4 children simultaneously for 4.35 dollars an hour? This is not a cultural exchange program, it is slavery. It is not worthy for a person to work so much for so little. They justify it by saying that we receive food and a place to live: APIA does not ensure that the conditions inside the host's homes are decent. Au Pairs ended up with physical and mental health issues.
I do not recommend APIA or the au pair program in general.

The company was always helpful with all the information needed during the program also with help regarding any subject. I would recommend any time!

Never again! Aupairing is the worst. The family are not being checked out enough. Too less money for too much work. Working over hours, caring for the fit even though it’s not your responsibility.

It’s a true and excellent experience, trustable and with people ready to help you. If you’re hesitating about doing it, go for it! This is the best agency to do it with, they’re capable and willing to help with your application and else.

The Au Pair in America online portal is very efficient, as well as the application and documentation process. What leaves a lot to be desired is the support for Au Pairs when we are with the family, no matter how good the family is, the service in general is very tiring and stressful, we work as much as anyone else 45 hours a week earning only 4 dollars per hour , this is a shame, the excuse for paying so little is that we are in the country to study and we live with the family, however the scholarship is only 500 dollars per year and the study hours are only 72 hours, the study is a lot weak, and can be completed in a short time, does not justify paying such a low salary. Being in another country, working a lot, earning so little and so many other problems make many Au Pairs psychologically ill and the agency does not provide support in this regard,

When I finished my year as an au pair, they were supposed to book and pay for my return flight. When I went to the airport to go home, I was not able to get on a plane, because they had cancelled my plane without letting me know. When I confronted them, they just ignored me. This ended up costing me a lot of money unfortunately. Can’t recommend APIA, it’s SCAM!!

I was an Au pair for 2 years and had the best years of my life! They are so helpful and kind ❤️❤️ 5 stars easily!!