The au pair rematch process is the sponsor-managed transition that happens when a host family placement stops working and the au pair needs to be moved to a new home. It is run by your sponsor agency, not by the federal government directly, and it usually gives the au pair about two weeks to find a new family while continuing to live in the current home. If a new match is not made in that window, the au pair’s J-1 status ends. Understanding the timing, the money, and the paperwork is what keeps a bad placement from becoming a visa problem.
How a Rematch Starts
Either side can trigger it. The au pair or the host family contacts the sponsor agency to report that the placement is not working, and a staff member, often called a Local Childcare Consultant or Community Counselor, usually tries to mediate first. That step can include phone calls, in-person meetings, or a written plan to address the specific problems.
If mediation does not resolve the conflict, the agency moves to a formal rematch. Both the au pair and the host family typically submit a written explanation of why the placement failed. The agency then reviews the circumstances and decides two things: whether to approve the rematch, and whether the au pair is still eligible to be placed with a new family at all. Sponsors are expected to make a good-faith effort to find a new host family so long as the au pair still meets the program’s eligibility criteria.1Federal Register. Exchange Visitor Program – Au Pairs In some cases, particularly where the au pair has violated program rules, the agency may end participation in the program instead of rematching.
One thing worth knowing up front: the current text of 22 CFR § 62.31 does not spell out a formal rematch procedure. It sets the rules for placements, hours, pay, and education, but the word “rematch” and its step-by-step mechanics come from each sponsor’s own policies.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs That means the details below reflect common practice across major sponsors, and your specific agency contract controls.
The Two-Week Transition Window
Once the agency approves the rematch, most sponsors provide roughly a two-week window for the au pair to find a new family. This is agency policy, not a federally mandated 14-day period. Contract language from major sponsors typically requires the host family to allow the departing au pair to keep living in the home during this period if a new placement isn’t immediately available.
During those two weeks, the host family decides whether the au pair continues providing childcare. If the au pair keeps working, the weekly stipend continues. If the family relieves the au pair of duties, the stipend requirement generally ends, but housing and meals must still be provided until the transition period ends or a new match is finalized. The requirement of a suitable private bedroom under the regulation does not disappear because a rematch is underway.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs
If a new match comes through before the two weeks run out, the au pair can move sooner. If the transition drags on with no match, the agency starts the process of ending the au pair’s program.
Finding a New Host Family
When the transition begins, most agencies make the au pair’s profile visible to families searching for an available participant in the sponsor’s system. The au pair can also browse families looking to match. Both sides review profiles covering childcare experience, location, household details, and expectations, and interviews take place inside this same window.
When a potential match appears, both parties agree through the agency, and the sponsor confirms the new arrangement meets every program requirement before finalizing it. Placement limits still apply. An au pair cannot be placed with a family that has a child under two unless the au pair has at least 200 hours of documented infant care experience, and no placement can go forward with a special-needs child unless the au pair has relevant experience that the family has reviewed in writing.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs
Sponsors are also required to contact both the au pair and the new host family twice per month for the first two months after any placement beyond the original one. Extra check-ins come with the territory after a rematch.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs
Pay, Hours, and Education Do Not Pause
Once the new placement begins, the core program rules pick up unchanged. A standard au pair can work no more than 10 hours per day and 45 hours per week. An EduCare au pair is capped at 10 hours per day and 30 hours per week. Compensation must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, calculated on the basis of 45 hours per week for standard au pairs, with EduCare participants receiving 75 percent of that rate.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs
The educational requirement carries over too. Standard au pairs must complete at least six semester hours of academic credit at an accredited U.S. college or university during the initial program period; EduCare au pairs need at least twelve. The host family pays educational costs up to $500 for standard au pairs and up to $1,000 for EduCare participants.2eCFR. 22 CFR 62.31 – Au Pairs
When a rematch happens partway through the year, splitting that education cost between the outgoing and incoming families is one of the trickiest questions. Each agency handles it differently, so ask your sponsor directly how they allocate tuition and whether any amount already spent counts toward the new family’s obligation.
Rematch Time Comes Out of Your Program Length
The initial au pair program runs for up to 12 months. Time spent in rematch limbo is not added back to the clock. Two weeks in transition means two weeks gone from your total. An au pair who is eight months into a 12-month program will realistically deliver about four months of childcare to a new family, and both sides should do that math before agreeing to a match. If the numbers don’t work for the family’s needs, it is better to know before the match is finalized than after.
If No New Family Is Found
When the transition window closes without a placement, the sponsor terminates the au pair’s record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). That termination ends J-1 status. The distinction between finishing a program and being terminated from one matters a great deal here. Au pairs who complete their full program get a 30-day grace period to travel or prepare for departure. Au pairs whose program is terminated are expected to leave the United States immediately, with no 30-day grace period.3BridgeUSA. Adjustments and Extensions
The sponsor agency is responsible for arranging return travel in these circumstances. Staying in the country after a SEVIS termination can carry serious immigration consequences, including potential bars on future visa applications. Treat the transition window as an urgent deadline, not a relaxed search period.
Your Rights and How to Report Problems
Au pairs have the right to be treated fairly throughout a rematch, and the Department of State protects participants from retaliation or threats of program cancellation for reporting problems. Start by contacting your sponsor directly. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, the Department of State runs a 24/7 hotline at 1-866-283-9090 and takes email at jvisas@state.gov.4BridgeUSA. Au Pair Program Resource Page If the Department finds the sponsor’s response inadequate, it will keep monitoring until the situation is resolved. Au pairs can also file complaints with local, state, or federal enforcement agencies on their own.1Federal Register. Exchange Visitor Program – Au Pairs Host families who believe their agency mishandled a rematch can use the same channels.
Mistakes That Can Cost You the Program
The biggest error au pairs make is leaving the host family’s home before the agency has formally approved the rematch. Walking out in a heated moment leaves no documented record of a transition, and the sponsor may treat it as a voluntary withdrawal from the program rather than a rematch. That distinction can be the difference between staying in status and losing it.
Host families sometimes make the opposite mistake: pushing an au pair out immediately after asking for a rematch. The contractual duty to provide housing during the transition exists for a reason, and agencies take a hard line on families who force an early departure. Both sides should also avoid informal arrangements to skip the agency entirely. An au pair who moves directly to a new family without going through the sponsor’s process is working outside the terms of the J-1 visa, and that creates immigration exposure for everyone involved.