Care · Caregiving
Foreign Caregiver Options Planner
This is a compliance planner. It does not create a visa strategy or replace an immigration attorney.
Understand the cost and compliance issues around household caregivers, employment eligibility, H-2B limits, domestic-worker rights, and lawful immigration paths.
Estimate inputs
Use this estimate to organize the conversation, then confirm details with providers, insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, tax, legal, or qualified advisors as appropriate.
Assumptions
- A U.S. household generally cannot treat a foreign caregiver as informal labor.
- H-2B requires temporary need, labor certification, USCIS petitioning, caps, and wage protections.
- B-1 domestic employee scenarios are limited and usually tied to accompanying a qualifying employer.
Care-cost planning boundaries
Care planning should compare settings, family workload, public benefits, tax/payroll obligations, safety, and respite. It should not promise eligibility or replace medical, legal, immigration, tax, or benefits advice.
- Medicare generally does not cover custodial nursing home care when custodial care is the only care needed.
- Hiring a household caregiver can create wage, overtime, Form I-9, payroll tax, and Schedule H obligations.
- Bringing a foreign caregiver is not a simple cost-saving shortcut. Lawful paths are limited and fact-specific.
Lawful-path checklist
The practical workflow is to identify whether the worker is already authorized to work, complete required employment verification when required, understand household-employer tax rules, check wage and overtime rules, and speak with an immigration attorney before attempting any visa path.
- Do not assume a visitor can work as a caregiver.
- Do not withhold passports, documents, wages, or mobility.
- Use written agreements, time records, payroll records, and state-law checks.
Related tools and tracks
Source links used for this calculator family
- CMS 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums
- Medicare 2026 costs
- Medicare Part D costs and late enrollment penalty
- Medicare nursing home coverage
- IRS 2026 HSA limits
- IRS 2026 health FSA limits
- IRS Publication 926 household employer guide
- DOL domestic service fact sheet
- USCIS domestic workers Form I-9
- USCIS H-2B temporary non-agricultural workers
- DOL H-2B program
Source check and limits
Last source check: April 28, 2026
Scope checked: Federal household-employer, wage-hour, Form I-9, and H-2B source baseline only; state law, immigration facts, and family arrangements vary.
- Household caregiver, payroll, wage-hour, immigration, and benefits rules can vary by federal and state law and by the facts of the arrangement.
- This tool compares planning costs and compliance prompts. It does not create a lawful work arrangement or replace professional advice.
Kefiw shows the assumptions used so you can audit the math before relying on the result. This tool does not provide legal, tax, payroll, accounting, medical, insurance, benefits, immigration, compliance, or provider-specific pricing advice.