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I guess another factor in my reasoning is, the worker would be getting paid for a full time wage, but not required to work full time. We live in a 1800 sq ft duplex. At most the worker may have 3-4 hours of work per day. I assumed minimum wage would be fair since a large part of the community here gets paid minimum wage. We rent to family who work minimum wage jobs and they seems to make it. I can’t believe the word slavery and servatitude are being thrown around.

Of course we would set them up for the winter conditions. This isn’t the movies. I’m not trying to pay someone $8 an hour and then nickel and dime them for everything. Now, if the worker wanted to go out and see a movie, have a drink, etc, that would be own their own dime. 

I would think the incentive to remain ongoing would be that even though they are only making minimum wage they wouldn’t have a single bill to pay here. 

You get what you pay for, I have seen and talked with a lot workers here getting paid 40-100 pesos a day ($1-2 USD). They are happy to be working and go out of their way to ensure the job they do is done correctly. It’s a different mindset in these parts. 

And to add to the to govt sets per diem  rates for all locations. Philippines Manila  is $137 a day to live off the local economy. Alaska Anchorage $125

I have been living here for a little time now and that’s not necessarily true. I bought a Cheeseburger meal here at Wendy’s for about $6 USD equivalent. T-shirts are 10-15 usd for the generic shirt. Cars are more expensive in most cases. Alcohol is similarly priced.  COL isn’t 3-4x less here. But a minimum wage employee would see a 4x increase to their pay. I sleep fine at night. I’m not trying to scam anyone. Just wanted information. I fell like trump right now though

I don’t know what COL means

46 minutes ago, mcdull said:

so why would you think it is ok to pay a Filipino minimum wage with room and board? Sounds like modern day slavery to me.

Minimum wage in the Philippines is under 700 pesos a month. That’s $350USD a month. Again,  a month. That’s 4-5 weeks. 

How is paying someone $320 a week and providing lodging and meals modern day slavery?

9 minutes ago, jan22 said:

There is some mis-information in these responses. 

 

First, you do NOT need to look for someone in the US before seeking to bring someone in as your domestic employee. They are not going to get a work visa per se -- it will be a B-1 domestic employee visa, annotated with your name as the employer.  There are some special requirements for this, of course.

 

Are you remaining in the military, with the expectation that you will be deployed overseas again within the next six years? If not, then you will not be able to bring a domestic employee with you. The only way US citizens can do this is if they have an expectation of leaving the United States and taking the domestic employee with them. You will need to show that you are on a temporary assignment in the US and that you are subject to frequent postings abroad that last two years or more.

 

Do you currently employ domestic help in your overseas assignments?  You will need to show that either the employee you wish to bring has been in your employ for at least six months prior to your entry into the US or that you have regularly employed domestic employees in the same capacity that you wish to employ this person. The employee also must show that they have worked as a domestic employee for at least one year previously, for you or someone else.

 

You will also need a contract, signed and dated by you and the employee, that will be submitted at the visa interview and the Port of Entry. The contract must include information on the following, at a minimum:

• You will be the only employer in the US.
• You will provide room and board and round trip airfare.
• You will provide the greater of minimum wage under US federal, state, or local law for an eight-hour workday.
• Both you and your employee must provide two weeks notice if either side intends to terminate the contract.
• The contract must also include any other benefits that are normally required for domestic workers in the area of employment.

In other words, the contract must show that you will be paying and providing benefits to your employee the same as any employee in the US would legally expect to receive.  Under a law referred to as the Wilberforce Act, the employee will be informed of this during his or her visa interview and will be provided information on how to contact officials if the contract is not adhered to.

 

If, after reading this, you still think you qualify to and want to bring an employee, once you have the contract and everything in place the employee will apply for a B-1 Visa under the same process as any visitor visa.  They will need to have a copy of the contract to submit at that time.  They will also need to meet all of the requirements of B visa, including having a residence abroad which they have no intention of abandoning.

 

Thank you for the info. What I was really hunting for

boiler- I am doing a 180 tour in Singapore, but I am stationed in Alaska

1 hour ago, Going through said:

I think you need to do some further research and make note of what you're obligated to do as the domestic employer....

I agree. That’s why I came here

1 hour ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

You will pretty much have to pay them the prevailing wages here in the USA and not Pinas sorry. 

 

But I do have a couple questions for you if you don't mind answering those sir? I am trying to get to Singapore as a GS worker so I do have a couple questions for someone that has been stationed there. 

Fire away. I’m here for a 180 tour, but I’ll answer what I can

34 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

You would be expected to pay them a fair wage for the job they are doing. If locals would get paid more for housekeeping duties than the minimum wage then your worker should too. 

 

Would you be prepared to fund an annual trip home for your employee? Medical insurance? SS contributions, etc? It’s a lot to ask someone to up and leave to go work in a foreign country so far from home potentially with no support network. 

Funding a trip home is something I would feel completely ok with. As far as insurance and SS contributions I don’t se why that couldn’t be worked into the deal to some extent. I don’t want to come across as someone trying to find cheap labor, but after seeing the vast population here that works for pennies on the dollar compared to workers in the US it seems I would be giving someone a much better financial opportunity then what available to them currently

https://www.indeed.com.ph/salaries/Housekeeper-Salaries

3 minutes ago, Roel said:

It kind of sounds like you're looking for cheap foreign labor. Work visas will protect that person and you will need to pay a fair wage - I highly doubt that room and board counts, but I'll leave that to other members. @geowrian  ?

 

Not to mention... the way you're generalizing... it's worrying also. American workers - bad. Foreign workers - all amazing. 

Just in my experience we haven’t had any luck to date hiring someone who stays the course. I would be paying them a fair wage. $8 is the minimum wage here. Same rate the foreigners our big box stores are hiring, and they get no room and board

3 minutes ago, Roel said:

Still, your first step for sponsoring unqualified foreigner would be searching for someone in the US. Only then, if you will be able to confirm that no one in the US can or want do this job. Then you can think about work visas - but there are limitation on how long the person can remain in the US, also process can take years to complete because unqualified workers are not a priority and their work visas are pretty limited per year. Also your housekeeper doesn't need to be from Alaska, you need to show that no one in the whole US wanted that position. Not just one state.

 

There is good info here https://www.immigrationhelpla.com/immigration-law/housekeeper-domestic-employee.html

 

As for me assuming things - it wouldn't be the first time new forum member would try to look for loopholes like this, not to mention it's uncommon for US military to bring foreigner workers from abroad. Simply because its an expensive and long process. If you think it's that important, you will need to hire a lawyer.

Thank you for this info. I will try and read more to see if I have a case or not. Hard thing with Alaska is, most lower 48ers aren’t eager to come up to the last frontier. I do appreciate your help

10 minutes ago, Going through said:

Wouldn't it be easier to just hire a housekeeper already residing in the US?

In my experience trying this in the past you  don’t get what you pay for and the majority  of us housekeepers eventually ake  you for granite. We had an employ working everyday for 3 hours doing a,b,c,d. After a few months they started taking 4 hours. Then 4 hours do just abc and didn’t want to do d anymore. We hired a new housekeeper and it was more of the same. They would get comfortable and push the limits so we’d have to let them go. Even paying them above minimum wage didn’t help. I ran the numbers and I could hire someone full time at $8 an hour and give them room an board ( we have the extra space) and it would be about the same price. Seems from what I see here in Singapore and the Philippines, they work with a lot more pride and thankfulness just to be employed. You dont get that in the US as easy

12 minutes ago, Roel said:

Also if you're a single solider who can afford work visa sponsorship and also being able to pay (because in accordance to work visas - they need to be legally hired ) the housekeeper for another few years - congrats. 😛

My wife and I have other businesses outside the military which affords us the additional income to hire a permanent worker. 

I am in the US Military and I’ve been stationed in Singapore with many trips to the Philippines. I didn’t even realize I could hire a foreign worker to be a housekeeper in the states. I’ve read a lot in this site, but I feel like I’m missing a checklist or how to guide. Is there a site or a forum that breaks down the process to hire and get a vise for a foreign worker? 

Any tips or potential hang ups you might foresee?