Au Pairs, Summer Workers Ensnared in Trump Visa Interview Freeze

Disruptions are mounting for businesses and families that rely on international visitors for child care, summer camps, and a range of other roles as the Trump administration’s abrupt pause on visa interviews stretches into its fourth week.

The J-1 exchange visitor visa program used by thousands of au pairs and camp counselors from abroad was hit with the same pause on consular interviews blocking visa appointments for foreign college students on F-1 visas. Barriers to their entry would hamper meeting child-care needs in the US, industry leaders said.

About 40% of au pairs placed by Stamford, Conn., based Au Pair in America are still pending visa interviews before they can come to the US this summer, said Jean Quinn, the organization’s director. Those delays could affect military families, first responders, and working mothers, Quinn said.

“For American families, this program is not a ‘nice to have,’” she said. “It’s a need to have.”

The interview freeze also affects foreign workers expecting to come to the US for jobs at swimming pools and hotels, as well as physicians, university researchers, and foreign exchange students seeking J-1 visas. Although many already secured interview appointments, the timing of the pause threatens the hiring of other workers who expected to start jobs before September.

Even if it’s lifted soon, employers across the board could face a backlog of visa interviews as students and exchange program users scramble for new appointments. The delays could also have ripple effects on appointments for other employment-based visas like H-1Bs popular with tech firms, industry advocates say.

Summer Camps

US summer camps employ around a million, mostly young, workers each summer. Only a fraction—about 32,000—are foreign workers employed on J-1 visas. But those visa holders often bring important specialized skills, said Scott Brody, government affairs chair at the American Camp Association.

“Whether they’re lifeguards or whether they’ve worked in special education, these are small but critical roles filled by folks coming through Bridge USA programs,” said Brody, who is also the owner and director of Camps Kenwood & Evergreen in New Hampshire. “You can’t run a 200-person overnight camp without a swimming program.”

Hiring for those hard-to-fill roles actually means more jobs for Americans, because they can make a big difference in the capacity of camps to operate, Brody said. At his camps, J-1 holders fill roles in swim instruction, theater arts programming, and rock climbing.

The Alliance for International Exchange, which represents organizations and employers that use education and cultural exchange visa programs, estimates that 1,000 camp counselors and another 2,600 summer work travelers—which also include many counselors—are stuck without visa appointments.

“That’s 1,000 cabins at summer camps that might not have the counselors they expected, disappointing thousands of American campers,” said Mark Overmann, executive director of the Alliance. “We’re going to start seeing compounding effects the longer it goes on.”

Summer work travelers take hospitality and agriculture production jobs in often remote locations, said Dave Dahl, president of WISE Foundation, a nonprofit that places J-1 workers with employers. More than 50 J-1 workers placed by the foundation won’t make it to the US at all this summer as a result of interview delays, he said.

“We worry about the impact this pause is going to have in the next year,” Dahl said. “Will people be less inclined to join the program if they’re worried about what the government might do?”

Although the J-1 program is funded by users, organizations involved in the program are also keeping a close eye on congressional appropriation after a White House budget proposal called for cutting funding to BridgeUSA, the State Department office that administers exchange visitor programs.

Backlog Concerns

The State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment on the expected timeline for lifting the interview pause, but a spokesperson said student and exchange visitor visa applicants could continue to apply. Those who don’t have appointments yet should continue monitoring availability, the spokesperson said.

Roughly 20,000 J-1 visa holders provide live-in child care services to host families through the au pair program—more than a quarter of those arriving in the summer months.

The anxiety levels of families waiting for au pairs depends on their planned arrival times, said Devon Kapler, executive director of Go Au Pair in Salt Lake City, Utah, with those targeting June or July start dates most worried. The J-1 program allows visitors to stay up to 12 months but many users like au pairs plan their stays around summer breaks or other gaps in studies.

The organization has already seen some cancellations as a result, Kapler said.

“Families usually know they have to be somewhat flexible with arrivals,” she said. “No one wants to wait forever.”

When the pause is lifted after the adoption of new screening procedures, they’ll still have no guarantee of quick movement on a visa. US embassies and consulates will have to process a rush of even bigger demand for interview appointments created by the pause.

“Some posts depending on staff ability can work through backlogs very quickly,” she said. “There’s a lot of variables at play.”

That could have a cascading effect on availability of interview appointments, including for H-1B specialty occupation visas used by tech workers or P visas used by athletes and entertainers, said Mike Jackson, vice president of public policy at relocation services industry trade group Worldwide ERC.

“There’s a finite amount of appointments times at consulates,” he said. “There’s a real concern among employers that delays could impact talent mobility programs across the board.”