The Au Pair program is one of the cheapest, most structured ways for young Africans to live legally in America for 1-2 years. You live with an American family, help with their kids, and in return you get free flights, free housing, free meals, a weekly stipend, health insurance, and money toward college classes. This guide covers everything from start to finish. _________________________________________ _________________________________________ First: Check if your country is eligible A December 2025 travel ban blocked nationals from 28 African countries from getting J-1 visas. Before you do anything else, check this list. Fully blocked (all visas suspended): Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan J-1 visas specifically suspended: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe Still fully eligible (examples): South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Mozambique, eSwatini, Rwanda, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar If you hold dual nationality with a non-banned country, you may still be eligible. Talk to an immigration attorney. _________________________________________ _________________________________________ What you need to qualify: - Age 18-26 - Completed secondary school (matric or equivalent) - Conversational English - At least 200 hours of childcare experience outside your own family - For infant care (kids under 2): 200 additional hours with infants - Valid driver's license (not technically required, but almost impossible to match without one) - No criminal record - Medically fit - Single with no dependents _________________________________________ _________________________________________ What you get: - Round-trip flights (home country to USA and back) - Private bedroom in host family's home - Three meals a day - Weekly stipend of $195.75 minimum (some agencies pay $215+) - Up to $500 toward college classes - Health insurance for 12 months - 1.5 days off per week + one full weekend off per month - 2 weeks paid vacation per year - 30-day travel period after program ends - Option to extend for 6, 9, or 12 more months - Car access for childcare duties

These U.S. colleges and universities give full scholarships to international students. They have been organized below by major so you can find the right fit for YOUR field of study. Agriculture (Animal Science, Forestry, Plant Science) - Berea College - Cornell University Aerospace Engineering - Case Western Reserve University - MIT - Princeton University - Stanford University - University of Notre Dame Business (Finance, Accounting, Business Administration) - Claremont McKenna College - Cornell University - Emory University - Franklin & Marshall College - Lehigh University - New York University - Skidmore College - University of Notre Dame - University of Pennsylvania - University of Richmond - Washington and Lee University - Washington University in St. Louis Biomedical Engineering - Brown University - Case Western Reserve University - Columbia University - Cornell University - Dartmouth College - Duke University - Johns Hopkins University - Lehigh University - MIT - New York University - Northwestern University - Rice University - Stanford University - Tufts University - Union College - University of Pennsylvania - University of Rochester - Vanderbilt University - Washington University in St. Louis - Yale University Civil Engineering - Case Western Reserve University - Columbia University - Cornell University - Duke University - Johns Hopkins University - Lafayette College - Lehigh University - MIT - New York University - Princeton University - Rice University - Tufts University - Union College - University of Notre Dame - Vanderbilt University Computer Science - Amherst College - Barnard College - Bowdoin College - Brandeis University - Brown University - Bryn Mawr College - California Institute of Technology - Carleton College - Colby College - Colgate University - Colorado College - Columbia University - Connecticut College - Cornell University - Dartmouth College - Davidson College - Denison University - Duke University - Emory University - Grinnell College - Hamilton College - Harvard University - Harvey Mudd College - Haverford College - Johns Hopkins University - Lafayette College - Lehigh University - Macalester College - Middlebury College - MIT - Mount Holyoke College - New York University - Northwestern University - Oberlin College - Pomona College - Princeton University - Reed College - Rice University - Skidmore College - Smith College - Stanford University - Swarthmore College - Trinity College - Tufts University - Union College - University of Chicago - University of Notre Dame - University of Pennsylvania - University of Richmond - University of Rochester - Vanderbilt University - Vassar College - Washington University in St. Louis - Wellesley College - Wesleyan University - Williams College - Yale University

To secure a fully funded scholarship in the U.S., the process is simple but requires preparation. This guide here is specifically for first-year (freshman) applicants. These are students who have a high school diploma (it is ok if you completed high school several years ago) and have never enrolled in a college or university. If you have attended any college or university after high school, pursued or earned a Higher National Diploma (HND), or completed any post-secondary qualification, you are considered a transfer student and should follow the transfer application process instead. 🏫 STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE (first-year year students): 1. First, you need to find schools that give full scholarships to international students... I’ve made a list you can check out here or you can get the full eBook here: https://stan.store/williamlebeau/p/30-colleges-that-fully-fund-international-students. I have also added a school list at the bottom of this post. 2. Once you have your schools, the next step is to apply... You are going to use the Common App to apply: https://www.commonapp.org. I created a guide to make the Common App easy for international students, which you can find here: https://stan.store/williamlebeau/p/common-app-made-simple-for-international-students. You can also watch my YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/2yYYGHaIK04 3. After applying, you’ll need to submit the CSS Profile at https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org before the deadline and make sure all your documents are submitted. The CSS profile is how schools determine how much money you need for your scholarships. You can get a fee waiver for the CSS by looking at the list of schools that give CSS fee waivers here: https://www.skool.com/study-for-free-in-the-usa-6027/10-universities-with-css-fee-waivers-full-funding-part-2?p=40336729. You can also watch a video of how to fill out the CSS here: https://youtu.be/7RMaX-NoiBQ

I have been getting so many messages from you asking me to review your essays, and I wish I could sit down with each of you and go through every draft, but there's only so many hours in a day. So I built something instead. Introducing www.culturo.io It's a web application that I created specifically for international students who need honest feedback on their essays. You paste in your essay, and it gives you detailed feedback on what's working, what's not, and how to make it stronger. Here's the thing: it's still in its trial version. That means it's not perfect yet. You might run into bugs. Something might not work the way it should. If that happens, just message me directly and let me know what went wrong. I'm actively working on improving it every day. This is just the beginning. I have so much more planned, such as school recommendations, scholarship matching, and application checklists, but I wanted to get the essay feedback tool in your hands first because I know how many of you need it right now. Give it a try: www.culturo.io

THIS IS MY RECOMMENDATION ON WHAT TO DO IF YOUR COUNTRY IS BANNED. The US just expanded its travel ban. Starting January 1, 2026, students from 39 countries will NO LONGER be able to get F1 student visas. WHAT HAPPENED: On December 16, 2025, President Trump signed a new proclamation expanding the travel ban from 19 to 39 countries. This takes effect January 1, 2026. WHAT THE BANS MEAN: 🔴 FULL BAN = ALL visas blocked. No student visas. No tourist visas. No work visas. No green cards. Nothing. 🟠 PARTIAL BAN = Student visas (F-1), tourist visas (B-1/B-2), and exchange visas (J-1) are BLOCKED. Some work visas like H-1B are still possible but limited to 3 months. WHO'S AFFECTED: If you're already in the US with a valid visa → You can stay If you leave the US and your visa is still valid → You can return (but expect extra screening) If you're outside the US with no valid visa → You CANNOT get a new one If your visa expires → You CANNOT renew it FULL BAN (20): Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Laos, Sierra Leone, + Palestinian Authority PARTIAL BAN (19): Burundi, Cuba, Togo, Venezuela, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, Zimbabwe WATCHLIST (Leaked) May Be Added Next: Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Tuvalu, Uganda, and Vanuatu. If you're already in the US, you can stay. But if you leave, you might not be able to come back. Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/12/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-further-restricts-and-limits-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-security-of-the-united-states/