Consulate General of the United States Merida, Mexico

Requirements:

Employers who qualify to take an alien domestic employee to the U.S. in non-immigrant status to work for them during a temporary stay:

1. U.S. Citizens who reside permanently abroad, are stationed in a foreign country and who are visiting the U.S. temporarily, or whose overseas employment requires frequent international transfers lasting two years or more. Also, U.S. citizens who are assigned to the U.S. temporarily, and who are likely, as a condition of employment, to be transferred abroad again within four years.

2. Nonimmigrant visa holders (bearers of B1/B2, BBBCV, E, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, Q, R and TN  non-immigrant visas) who are in or are applying for temporary admission to the United States.

Legal Permanent Residents are normally not entitled to bring or to employ non-immigrant alien domestic employees in the U.S.

To qualify for a domestic employee visa the employee must show he/she has no intention to immigrate to the U.S.  The Consul must be convinced that the domestic employee will return to his or her home country after a short period of work in the United States.  Even though the employer’s documents support the application for a domestic employee visa (such as the employer’s visa, their work and solvency), it is the domestic employee who has the obligation to fulfill the requirements to qualify.

The employer does not need to be present at the interview with the employee, but the employee needs to show that the employer has permission (visa) to enter the United States.  The applicant also needs to show that the employer has the economic solvency to pay for the trip and also the salary of the domestic employee.

The applicant (domestic employee) needs to present a contract signed and dated by both employer and employee, which includes the following points. In the United States this contract is a legal and binding document.

Salary: 

The employee will receive (at the least) the federal minimum wage or prevailing wage (whichever is higher) of the area in which he/she will be working. The employee will be paid for a work day of 8 hours plus benefits which include overtime, travel expenses, housing and meals. The contract must indicate exactly how much the employee will receive for normal work hours and for overtime and the expected hours of the day the employee will work.

As of July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage in the United States was $7.25 per hour, but this figure may change in the future and some states and cities have much higher minimum wages. For the current minimum wage in each state please visit the U.S. Department of Labor.

Also, the contract must indicate the hours of work and how much the employee will earn for overtime. Labor law in the United States requires that workers receive at least 150% of the normal salary for more than 40 hours of work per week. For example, an employee would receive $9.83 per hour of overtime if he or she usually earns $6.55 per hour.

Exclusivity of Work:  

The employee will work exclusively for the employer specified and named in the contract and whose name is annotated in the B1 visa.

Travel Expenses: 

The employer will provide housing, meals and the cost of a round trip ticket to the employee. Theses expenses will not be deducted from the employee’s salary.

There is the possibility that one may have to pay taxes. We recommend that the employer consult publication number 926 of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service): Hosehold Employer's Tax Guide (PDF 1.14 Mb) for more information. In short, taxes must be paid if an employer pays an employee more than $1,500 in any calendar year.

Federal requirements for tax payments are 15.3% of the salary which is divided equally between the employer (7.65%) and employee (7.65%). The employer’s portion covers Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%). The employer should also consult state law for state tax requirements.

View a sample contract (PDF 10 Kb).