- E3 Visa General Information
- E3 Visa US Consulate Interview
- E3 Visa Bachelors Degree and Specialty Occupation conditions explained
- Extending, Renewing or Changing Employers on the E3 Visa

Now here are the major points of note that apply to ALL cases. Just because your case varies slightly from this does NOT mean the US Consulate assessing your case are going to give you any special treatment as they assess hundreds of cases daily and are often making snap decisions so is best to be well prepared.

- The Bachelors Degree requirement is specifically for the position you are applying for that as advertised or if not advertised for in the normal course of events would have a bachelors degree as a minimum required criteria
- If you do not have a bachelors degree as a minimum, then you have to prove that any post high school education experience you have (completed or not) combined with your relevant years of professional experience in the area of the specific role you are applying for at least at minimum equals the level of a US Bachelors degree
- While not a stated policy anywhere, given the length of a standard US Bachelors Degree is 4 years, 3 years of relevant professional experience would equal one year of a degree. So that would mean as a rule of thumb, 12 years of relevant professional experience would equal a US bachelors degree (relevance is important as if you are applying for a investment finance job, experience working on a hotel front desk is not going to matter)

- Even though many Australian undergraduate University degrees are 3 years, the US would consider that equivalent to as US Bachelors degree
- Getting your experience and/or partial education accredited by a US company or institution as to its equivalency to a US Bachelors Degree will certainly help (possibly a fair bit) but is by no means a guarantee as to whether you will be approved
- Each case is at the total and ultimate discretion of the US consulate around the world to which you are applying and more particularly to the specific case officer in your case. That Consulate and case officer is under no obligation to provide you full reasoning behind their decision making and you have no right of appeal. You can only try again fully to apply for a new e3 visa application with new information if you have it

- Given that and the lack of clear stated black and white guidelines, you may be denied on technicalities and depending on where you apply you might be denied with a similar case and background to somebody else. This is obviously not fair but is the current system
- If you get denied, that does not preclude from applying again for a future US visa nor does it necessarily count against you. However it is always on your permanent record and you may get asked about it a future US Consulate interview. Given a US Consulate is “never wrong”, you would be well advised to not answer disparaging a previous consular official or consulate in a subsequent consulate interview if asked about a previous denial
- The more specialized your occupation you are applying for, the potential for them to be more relaxed about your level of experience/education. Again this is all completely arbitrary but if you are applying for a highly specialized bio-tech or nuclear role then your chances of being approved on relevant experience alone is probably higher than a generic business role

- In terms of supporting documents apart from getting a degree equivalency done, you could bring references on official letterheads, official HR documents explaining tenure, time at the company, job title and duties of the role you had, tax returns/financials/official company docs if it was your own company, awards and other certificates, diplomas and anything highlighting the level of your experience and education that could be provable if the US consular official so desired by calling somebody or looking up databases online. (it is certainly not advisable to fudge things hear b/c once you lose credibility with the Consulate, it would be hard to regain it). There is no official list of documents, but the more proof the better
- If you are applying for an occupation that you are not sure whether it is a specialty, bring copies of your Bachelors Degrees as well as information about the company, the position and duties as well as copies of where the job was advertised showing the bachelors degree minimum criteria all helps
- With professions where you need US licensing to actually do the job it is a little grey as to whether you can undertake this after you arrive and once you have started work but where possible getting this in advance is helpful and/or having your employer clearly state a plan of action around this when you arrive (NB: most licensing is state based in the US so you would need it from the State where you are working)

In recent times we have been hearing anecdotal experiences from some people, that Canadian based US Consulates are not even processing first time new E3 visa cases brought before them but only renewals of subsequent E3 visas whether the same or a different company. This is NOT a stated policy anywhere and the US Consulates in Canada all allow you to book online a new E3 visa appointment. However given the wait times for interviews for the US Consulates in Canada and the expense of traveling and staying somewhere, it is important to share this type of information that some people seem to be having at face value.

There may be underlying reasons whether pertinent to their specific case and/or due to the case load at a particular Consulate as to why this may be happening but given we don’t know, it is important to be wary. Whether some US Consulate locations are more favorable and easier then others is really unknown and can really only be gleaned from people’s experiences.

Ultimately with all of this it is very arbitrary and may seem unfair. However that is the US Immigration system and you just have to as best you can navigate through the misinformation and lack of clear public guidelines. We encourage you all to share you own experiences here and be as detailed as possible as to your background, your position and which US Consulate you applied so you can all learn from each other as that is definitely the best way to determine success.

Good Luck,
Cj

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

Getting a “real” job and moving to the E3

My goal was always to find a way to stay in New York beyond my J1 visa year. About six months into my J1 I got a job working for a theatre management company. They knew that if they wanted to keep me beyond the end of my J1 they’d have to sponsor me, so I began the process of researching the E3 visa. To be honest, most of what I learned about it I found here on e3visa.info. CJ’s articles on the visa process were insightful and easy to read. While the process isn’t the same for everyone, having a resource like this is immensely helpful. So if you’re planning to get on an E3, go back and read every article on this site.

I have a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Drama and Theatre Studies from an Australian university. My job definitely requires a college degree – the tricky part was proving that it requires MY college degree.

When you have a visa sponsor and are about to fill out the LCA, do a bit of research on the Department of Labor website about the BEST way of categorising your job. If your job doesn’t easily fit a DOL category, try finding one it does. We categorised my job as “Associate Producer” (not my real title) because “Producer” is a recognised specialised occupation according to DOL. Specialisation is also important: the title you pick has to be a job that requires a Bachelor’s degree or higher to do. In addition, you have to be making the median wage level for that job. This can sometimes be tricky: my job certainly didn’t pay anywhere near the median wage, but we were able to argue that I made a certain amount as an hourly rate and worked part time. They don’t need any supporting documentation to prove this information, so while I certainly wouldn’t advise lying on your visa application, you are able to stretch the parameters a little if you’re clever.

The US consular interview is really straightforward. It’s best to be as prepared as possible – I brought letters of support from old employers, my university results, my CV and other supporting documents. Ultimately the only thing they asked for was my LCA and a letter from my employer, which stated how much they were paying me and what my duties were. They asked how I found my job, what my job description was like, and what my  degree was in (though they never asked to see my paperwork). They asked about my ties to home (my entire family is over in Australia, so that was easy) and then stamped my document and sent me on my way. My passport with my E3 visa in it arrived three days later and I came back to the States a week later.

All in all, the process is actually incredibly simple. Once you have a job, filling out the LCA correctly is the trickiest part of the process – and it’s really not difficult at all, it just requires a bit of thought and maybe some inventiveness if your work situation isn’t really straightforward. I freaked out a lot and met with a lawyer who tried to convince me I couldn’t do it alone. I nearly paid them $4000 before actually paying attention to what was required of me and realising that I COULD do this on my own. I am SO relieved I didn’t do it through a lawyer; I would never have forgiven myself for paying that much for something that was so easy to do.

The hardest part is actually GETTING the job. If you plan to come over and look for work, your best bet is to get onto the B1 tourist visa and stay as long as you need to until you get a job. In this climate, it will take you longer than the 90 days allowed on the visa waiver (unless you are highly qualified in a specialist field). Bring your life’s savings with you and be prepared to go through it – whether you’re looking for work on the J1, E3, or H1B – looking for work can be exhausting and demoralising. But if you want it badly enough, and more importantly, if you KNOW what is required of you from the visa process, you will be fine.

My final three pieces of advice:

1) Know the visa process inside out. Be able to answer any question your future employer might ask you. The advantage of the E3 is that it costs your employer nothing to sponsor you, but they will probably still have lots of questions.

2) Read the instructions on the consular website. Tattoo them on your forehead. And for god’s sake, REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE VISA FEE AT AUSTRALIA POST (if you apply in Australia) and you HAVE TO COME TO THE CONSULATE WITH A REGISTERED POST ENVELOPE. The three people ahead of me at the consulate forgot one or both of these things and had to leave and go to the post office and come back and wait in line.

3) Don’t get discouraged – the E3 really is designed to make life easier for you and your employer. Finding a job is possible, it just takes time and energy.

Good luck!

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

So really this topic is already covered via the above resources but given the large amount of search volume from this query to our site more than anything else, along with many comments, we will do a brief post on the E3 visa process itself.

Step 1: Find an Employer willing to sponsor you
This is of course easier said than done but the crux of this is finding a US employer who is willing to hire you and thus sponsor your E3 Visa. The barrier to entry for this is at least less than the H-1B visa which has certain times of year associated to it, a very competitive fixed quota and large costs. However most employers will not hire someone without at least one face to face interview so there could be expense for you to achieve your goal. Note you can’t apply for your E3 visa as a new visa from within the US or transfer to it from the Visa Waiver Program. You can transfer to it from visa like the J1 Internship visa and F1 Student visa.

Step 2: Apply for Jobs At US Companies
I guess this is really interchangeable with Step 1 or indeed a subset of it. Given the important and uniqueness of this act I thought I would devote a paragraph to it. Of course for a foreigner on the other side of the earth to find a job in the US is some kind of effort and certainly requires some forward planning. Many people come to the US on the visas mentioned above like the J1 visa and F1 visa as a stepping stone to working in the US allowing them time to make contacts and attend interviews while under legal status. However many people do indeed do things like apply to jobs from Australia and then fly to the US and attend as many interviews as they can. Some good general tips are to have a US phone number on your application (i.e. via Skype), try and have a US mailing address if possible and mention visa status on their resume in explaining it to a potential employer. Of course from here the job interview and selection process is generally similar to what people may be used too but note that salary negotiations are a much bigger part of the US process and often begin right upfront. Finally ensure you understand the specialty occupation and bachelors degree provision.

Step 3: The Visa Application process
Once an employer has agreed to hire you and sponsor your E3 visa they need to file form ETA-9035(e) with the US Department of Labor. This is so they can received an approved Labor Condition Application (LCA). This is a free filing and can be done online. Essentially on this form includes details on the nature of the job, the nature of the company, a little on the candidate (i.e. you) and the salary. You should note that the salary has to meet the Department standard for the average salary for that type of role in that region of the country. You would take this document, along with an offer letter from the company to your US Consulate Interview for the E3 visa.

Step 4: The US Consulate Interview
From the link referenced above you can see a detailed account of the US Consulate interview for the E-3 visa. You can do this in other countries like Canada, UK, etc. but of course the most common tends to be at a Consulate in Australia. You should take as many supporting documents as possible including bank statements, asset ownership proof, copy of your degrees and any licenses that may be relevant to your role, etc. One of the things you need to demonstrate is the residence abroad condition. This is basically proof to the US that your ties to Australia are strong and that you intend to return home at the conclusion of your E3 visa period. The more prepared you are for this, the easier and quicker and less hassled it tends to be. You should note that you have to prepay the E3 Visa Application Fee at Australia Post prior to your interview.

So that in short is the E3 visa process but like I said read a lot of the other posts for in depth information and tips about particular aspects and how you can best navigate them.

Good Luck,
CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

As with the H1B visa and L1 visa, petitions and forms have to filed and approved at the USCIS and Department of Labor and with the E3 visa at the Department of Labor only, so a lot of the vetting has already been done. Then of course employers if they are planning to go through the time, expense and hassle of hiring a foreigner, they themselves are going to make sure most of the time, that the employer is a legitimate candidate with relevant experience and qualifications.

So going to the US Consulate interview, while in many ways seeming like a big deal to the candidate because of the formality, seriousness and security of the process, ends up being just a routine with at the most and most a few hours wasted in the room waiting. Therefore actually getting the E3 visa or H1B visa stamp in the passport is the last step in the process before flying to the US to begin their new career.

However for some unfortunate candidates it is not so simple and the process at the US consulate takes a lot longer under the title of “administrative processing” under condition 221(g).

For a few of this group it is partly or fully their own fault as they have forgotten documents they were supposed to bring or to pay relevant fees. Usually in these instances, it just requires another US consulate visa appointment or even a quick dash out to get things and pay the relevant costs, returning the same day to continue the interview albeit with going to back of the queue.

Also in some instance people have lied about their experience, qualifications and/or circumstances and/or their employer has to some degree and this is noticed or suspected by the US conular officer. In these cases the administrative processing that follows will ultimately result in a visa denial or occasionally and instant denial at the US consulate.

(To Note visa like the F1 visa or J1 visa tend not to have this issue. Of course you can still be denied for these visas, but it tends to be instant at the US consulate as the USCIS is generally not involved in these petitions)

However in most cases the “administrative processing” or condition 221(g) is a lot more grey and is often as a result of a very particular case officer hesitation due to some aspect of the application. These can include;

1. Unsure about the company as never sponsored a foreigner before and/or is a smaller organization or possibly operates in an industry field not usually associated with the professional work visa like E3, H1B and L1
2. Unsure about the job offer as it sounds like a non-professional or specialty role which may not require a bachelors degree not usually associated with the E3 visa, H1B visa or L1 visa
3. Unsure about the candidate as either their something amiss about their qualifications and experience and how it relates to the role they are about to fulfill or about their personal background from a security/character/criminal standpoint or for the E3 visa whether they intend to return home
4. Unsure about the nature of a dependent on the visa petition

The problem is at this point if a candidate receives a letter or notification under “administrative processing” 221 (g) that they lose complete control over the process. Whether their case will take a 1 week or 4 months is really dependent on the individual US consulate, what the backlog is at the time, mailing times, whether the processing will happen locally or be sent back to the US, public holidays and of course the nature of the individual case.

Additionally in most instances there is no way to get extra information until the US consulate contacts you with an update or request for more information or in any way to find out how long the process is going to take. This of course can complete ruin a potential work position, as many employers in the US are unlikely to hold open a role indefinitely with no guarantee of success or timeliness. Then of course individuals and families have also no doubt made travel plans and paid costs and begun to wind down local life so can cause a lot of heartache and financial pain as well.

This is a clear example of the US Immigration system for Legal Immigrants being completely unfair and in need of complete reform. However in the new immigration laws proposed by members of congress, things like this are never discussed as that would be too practical and not score any political points! This aspect and many like it is why the Legal Immigration mess feeds into and causes Illegal Immigration problems for the US.

Sometimes US consulates when required don’t even send the “diplomatic pouch” which carries the case documents back to the US straight away and collect other cases from their particular US consulate and others in the area or country prior to sending it back. This of courses further delay along with the fact the USCIS who re-process these cases often view this as low priority cases to evaluate.
In truth this process should only be used sparingly by US consular officials as in many cases just duplicating work already done by other US Government agencies as well as the Private employer.

I wish I could give more hope and insight to the process for people in this situation but it is a veyr mysterious process and this is all that is really known about it. All I can hope is that you never be subject to condition 221 (g) and administrative processing!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

So the E3 Visa has this requirement about Bachelor Degree and the role being a specialty occupation. Look even if you read the US Embassy FAQ about this, the definition is really a whole bunch of words that mean nothing.

In short the E3 Visa will apply if the job you are applying for in the US has a Bachelors Degree as one of the requirements or conditions for hiring a candidate. Now that does not necessarily mean you need a bachelors degree that is relevant to the role you are being hired for or even a Bachelors Degree at all.

In the US the undergraduate degree system is a lot more general so people may major in Political Science for example but go into Investment Banking. So if you have an Arts, Commerce, Science, Engineering or Law Degree as an Australian that will pretty much cover you for most roles.

They may ask you a question at the Consulate interview about this but that is easily answered by “you having a desire to go into **** field because that is where your talent and passion lies and your degree gives you great underlying knowledge to pursue it” (or something to that effect haha) Most likely it will never even come up.

If you don’t have a bachelors degree, the so-called rule is that you have 2 to 2.5 years of relevant work experience in lieu of each year of a standard degree in the field you are applying for. Now in Australia you can get Bachelors Degrees in 3 years but in the US it generally takes 4 years to get an undergraduate bachelors degree.

My tip is if you don’t have a degree but you have 9-12 years of verifiable work experience that is directly related to the role you have applied for and won in the US, and the employer has successfully filed an received the LCA from the US Department of Labor for you to take to the Visa Interview, then you will be fine! (of course the more experience the better!!)

So a specialty occupation for the E3 visa really becomes a role which requires specialized knowledge that can be obtained either by you having a Bachelors Degree or enough relevant work experience.

Of course for the E3 Visa, if your role requires some sort of certification that you need to do in the US to ply your trade in addition to your background qualifications, then you will have to that as well soon after entering the US.

Hope this clears things up.

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

So essentially this post is to explain a few of the terms you are bound to hear in relation to the E3 visa as you try and find a way to find an employer to sponsor your E3 visa to begin your life living and working in the US.

TERMS:

E3 visa: Without going in to the whole detail of the E3 visa as you can read about it in my blog post about E3, it was a visa that came into being inT 2005 after the AUSFTA (Australia and United States Free Trade Agreement) negotiated between the Howard Government in Australia and the Bush Administration in the US. It is not actually a part of AUSFTA but came subsequent to it as a direct result of the agreement. It is essentially a visa that allows Australian citizens (and their spouses who don’t have to be citizens of Australia) to work in the US for 2 year rolling periods mainly in professional roles.

Non-Immigrant: This is the status the US puts on all legal immigrants who come to the US in a working, student, etc. capacity who don’t have a green card (i.e. US permanent residency). Therefore if you are on a E3 visa or H1B visa working in the US then you are classified as a non-immigrant.

Dual Intent: This is a condition/benefit of non-immigrant visas in the US that allows a person to pursue more permanent status in the United States (i.e. green card) while on their current non-immigrant visa. The H1B visa is a dual intent visa but the E3 visa does NOT have that benefit. Some visas prohibit the application of permanent residency while on that visa status like the J1 visa.

Now to complicate matters further even though the E3 visa is not Dual Intent, it does allow for application for a Green Card as this regulation states below;

“An application for initial admission, change of status or extension of stay in E-3 classification, however, may not be denied solely on the basis of an approved request for permanent labor certification or a filed or approved immigrant visa preference petition.”

Regardless of the above though you still must prove your ties and your “residence abroad” and your intention to leave the United States at the end of your visa period.

Specialty Occupation: This is a term for the E3 visa (and other visas like H1B) that confuses a lot of people as the nature of the wording around what it is makes it sound highly technical and thus it becomes vague as to who it may apply to;

1. A theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge; and
2. The attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.

Essentially it works like this. The position you are being sponsored for must have a bachelors degree as a minimum requirement for the role even if you don’t hold such a degree. (you can have enough years work experience in that particular field of knowledge to compensate for you lack of degree). This is the reality of a specialty occupation for the E3 visa.

USCIS: Is the United States Customs and Immigration Service which evolved out of the old INS (Immigration and Naturaliztion Service) when the US created the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). Essentially the USCIS is responsible for all things immigration in the US all the way to citizenship, although for the E3 visa the only authorization you need is from the DOL (Department of Labor) which is unlike the H-1B visa which needs the application to also be approved by the USCIS.

I hope this helps clear up some of the terms in the US Immigration system in relation to the E-3 visa

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.