Domestic Employees

Qualifications for B-1:

For a B-1 visa, domestic employees must demonstrate to a consular officer and/or to DHS that they qualify for a U.S. visa according to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 214(b) of the INA presumes that every B-1/B-2 visa applicant is an intending immigrant. Thus, applicants for a B-1 domestic worker visa must overcome this legal presumption by demonstrating that:

• The purpose of their trip is to enter the United States for work as a domestic employee;
• They plan to remain for a specific, limited period;
• Their employer meets certain qualifications;
• They have evidence of compelling social and economic ties abroad; and
• They have a residence outside the United States as well as other binding ties that will ensure their return abroad at the end of the contract.

Application Process

All domestics must demonstrate strong financial, social, and family ties abroad that will compel them to return after the contract ends.

Caution:  Use only valid documents. Fraud or misrepresentation can result in
a permanent visa ineligibility. If confidentiality is of concern, the applicant should bring the documents to the Embassy in a sealed envelope. The Embassy will not make this information available to anyone and will respect the confidentiality of the information.

B-1: All required documents for any non-immigrant visa plus:

 1. Copy of your employer's visa or other method they will use to enter the United
  States (their Visa Waiver country passport or U.S. passport);
 2. Employer’s proof of ability to pay the employee’s wages while in the United States.
 3. Current Brunei employment visa under the employer’s name;
4. Two signed copies of an English-language employment contract while in the United States (one copy will be returned to successful applicants and must be presented at the U.S. port of entry, showing original signatures of both the employer and the employee.) stating that the employer will:
                                                                                              
• Be the only provider of employment for the employee;
• Provide medical insurance; Provide free board and lodging; and round-trip airfare to/from the United States (not to be deducted from wages);
• Pay the employee the minimum or prevailing wage (whichever is higher) for an eight hour day as well as any other benefits normally required for U.S. domestic workers in the geographical area of employment;
• Pay U.S. taxes and social security;
• Pay overtime (time and a half) for work hours exceeding eight in a day or 40 in a week;
• Agree to not withhold the employee's passport;
• Include severance provisions;
• The contract states the employee's hours of work and that the employee will not accept any other employment while working for the employer; and
• For American employers: Give at least two weeks notice of intent to terminate employment and the employee will give not more than two weeks notice of intent to leave employment.
 
 5. The non-immigrant visa holder or American employer will need to provide a letter from the head office of his/her company (personnel/human resources division) stating the length of time the employer has worked in Brunei;

• that the employer is subject to frequent international transfers lasting two years or more as a condition of employment;
• that the employer will assume another overseas position upon the termination of the U.S. assignment; and
• that the employer will be in the United States no longer than four years.

While in the United States

Domestics working in the United States are subject to and protected by U.S. law, which requires that all domestic helpers have a contract with their employer that conforms to U.S. labor regulations. These contracts create important legal obligations for the domestic helper and his/her employer, including:

• payment for time the employee is required to remain on premises after hours;
• the employee's retention of his/her passport; and
• the employee's right to leave the premises when not on duty.

The Department of State considers prevailing wage statistics to reflect a fair living wage for domestic helpers and personal employees. U.S. consular officers rely upon these figures when determining whether employment contract provisions satisfy applicable prevailing wage requirements for domestic helper B-1 applicants. The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains an Alien Labor Certification/Occupational Employment Survey (ALC-OES) database that breaks down prevailing wage statistics by occupation and metropolitan areas. For example, the hourly prevailing wage for 2007 for "Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners" is $7.39/hour in the Washington, D.C. area; $9.47/hour in the New York City area; $6.51/hour in the Miami area; $7.20/hour in the Chicago area; and $7.66/hour in the Los Angeles area.

The U.S. government considers "involuntary servitude" of domestic workers, as defined under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), to be a severe form of trafficking in persons (TIP) and a serious criminal offense; victims of involuntary servitude are offered protection under the TVPA. According to the TVPA, "the term 'involuntary servitude' includes a condition of servitude induced by means of (A) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that, if the person did not enter into or continue in such condition, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraints; or (B) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process."

The phone number for police and emergency services in the United States is 911, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains a hotline for reporting abuse of domestic employees and other TIP-related crimes: 1-888-3737-888.

Useful web sites

IRS:  Employment Taxes for Household Employees
(by Internal Revenue Service) at http//www.irs.gov/
DOL:  Minimum Wage Laws, wages by area and occupation in the States
(by Bureau U.S. Dept. of Labor) at http//www.dol.gov/

Non-Immigrant Visas

Advance travel planning and early visa application are important, since visa applications are subject to a greater degree of scrutiny than in the past. 

All applicants are STRONGLY encouraged to apply 30 days ahead of the anticipate travel date.