Jen lives in Brooklyn. She works full time in the financial district and her children attend school in Chinatown. Logistics is more complicated than it seems.
The commute time from home to school is 50 minutes, and the time from school to work is 30 minutes. Jen is in the office until at least 5:30 p.m. School dismisses at 2:30 p.m. After that, the 5- and 9-year-olds will need your attention and help with their homework.
Without help, “it’s going to be tough in the morning, but not in the afternoon,” she said. “You’re either going to get fired or you’re going to have to quit your job.”
The most practical solution for her family is to hire a nanny or au pair. Inevitably, this means relying on immigration providers. Because “that’s the pool of available candidates.”
“And it’s hard to find a nanny,” she said. “My friends said, ‘Maybe you should start a year in advance.'”
Jen and her husband are thrilled to have found an au pair from China. Au pairs shuttle children to and from school, help them learn Chinese, and ensure that children are not left unsupervised. This is an important safety measure for children’s health. Jen, a financial analyst, sometimes works from home, but it’s not without distractions. “I want everyone, including men, to understand that it’s hard to concentrate when children are around,” Jen says. Her husband is an emergency room doctor.
“We are wealthy and…blessed,” Jen said. “I don’t know how people who don’t have the resources or the time do it.”
Yet Jen’s ability to work is subject to the vagaries of immigration policy. In late May, the Trump administration suspended J-1 visa interviews, purporting to impose new vetting procedures, but resumed them in June. The J-1 visa, which includes au pairs, is an educational/cultural exchange visa.
“We’re all in a bit of a fright right now,” Jen said. “As things get worse, I always hear a little voice in my head saying, ‘Please don’t cancel my visa.’ If she goes away, I’ll have to quit my job.”
That’s something Jen really doesn’t want to do — “Basically, because of who I am,” she said.
“I find great satisfaction in my work. … I want to be productive. I want to be part of the workforce,” she said. “I pay taxes. I produce for my company. I think that’s what they want.”
