There is basically constant confusion online as to the difference between extending your E3 status in the United States, and actually renewing your E3 visa at a US Embassy or Consulate abroad. So what's the major difference between the two and which one should you do? Do they impact each other and can they help each other?
I spend a lot of time on Facebook groups and in chats with people asking each other how to make sure they can stay working in the United States on an E3 visa. Ultimately this comes down to two choices: renewing your E3 visa at a US Embassy or Consulate, or, extending your E3 status in the United States through USCIS (via an I-129).
The two of these are significantly different, and it's important you understand the differences between the two before deciding on a path.
What's the difference between “status” and a visa?
This is at the core of the question and it's good that you're asking, here's immigration lawyer, Doug Lightman from Lightman Immigration talking with me about it.
Here's the breakdown: “A visa allows you to request entry into the United States.” When you enter, you are now in an E3 visa “status”. The visa allows you to enter into a status in the United States.
Now, let's explain the process for each:
How to renew your E3 visa at a US Embassy or Consulate
In this scenario you are ultimately going to end up with a new visa sticker (they call it a stamp, but it's a sticker) in your passport. This will have a date that is up to 2 years in the future and the visa is the pass that allows you to enter the United States from overseas.
A renewal of an E3 visa is virtually identical to getting the inital E3 visa that you already have:
- You get a new certified LCA for the dates of your employment;
- You fill in a DS-160;
- You make an appointment at an embassy or consulate*
- You attend an appointment with all of this in your hand;
- You get approved and they take your passport;
- You collect (or are sent) your passport with a new visa stamp in it.
You'll find the step-by-step process to getting an E3 visa here and there are guides for how to do all of these steps on there.
This is the ideal scenario, but you'll notice I put a little * next to #3, because right now, due to COVID, this step is nearly impossible to achieve without an approved emergency appointment or some extreme luck. More on that below.
How to extend your E3 status while staying in the United States (via USCIS)
This is a slightly more difficult process because USCIS scrutinizes applications a bit more closely than the embassies and consulates do. The concept is the same, but the practice is different.
If you are in legal status in the United States, you can file to extend that using a new LCA and an I-129 (but not in all cases). It's a bunch of paperwork sent off to USCIS and while that's processing you generally have to stay in the country.
When you file internally to extend your status, you also immediately get 240 more days status (your status is defined by your I-94) without even getting the approval back. This is a great stop-gap while we wait for consulates and embassies to re-open!
This paperwork gets returned with an approval or an “RFE” (Request for Evidence) which requires you to send more information about yourself, the job, and the employer (all or some of this).
Once you are approved, you can stay in the country for as long as your status has been extended (generally in-line with your LCA).
Please note: If you have dependents, or if your visa isn't an E3, or a multitude of other conditions, this might not be right for you. Be sure to consult with an immigration attorney before you do this, because I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.
Update February 24, 2021: USCIS has recently announced premium processing for E-3 visas meaning that internally changing status has come down from months to weeks!
So what's the difference between the two?
The fundamental difference between the two is that the visa allows you to remain in the country AND then re-enter if you leave (on holiday, or for any other reason), whereas the status allows you to remain in the United States only.
If you extend your status in the United States, you can keep working and remain legally in the country, but once you leave, you're out, you have to go through the whole application at the embassy or consulate from above if you want to re-enter.
Why would I want to extend my status and not get a new visa (especially during COVID)?
So the question I get asked a lot is why would you need to use this path?
The answer is that throughout COVID we've seen that many places where you would normally get a new visa or renew an old visa are no longer open to applications and you therefore can't actually use their services!
For this reason, the extension of status is a great solution so you can remain working with your current employer and remain legally in the country for longer! Once embassies and consulates open again, you would then go there, get a new visa, re-enter and we're back to square one!
When you file internally to extend your status, you also immediately get 240 more days status (your status is defined by your I-94) without even getting the approval back. This is a great stop-gap while we wait for consulates and embassies to re-open!
Can you change employer with a change of status and remain in the United States?
Yes, but it's tough because right now it's taking around 6-9 months to get the confirmation back and you can't work with the new employer during that wait time. You also can't leave the country and return (if your visa has expired already).
A new visa would allow you to get a new employer and re-enter right away.
Does an extension in the US affect my E3 visa renewal when I do leave the United States and file for a renewal?
When you receive an approval in the US and are holding an I-797A there may come a time where you want to leave the US and get an actual visa.
This USCIS internal extension doesn't really do anything when it comes to filing for a new visa at a US Embassy or Consulate (unfortunately). You should definitely bring it along and have it on-hand as it would be supportive of your application, but in and of itself it doesn't really change anything.
The process is the same: You need to do everything like you would if you had not gotten the internal extension.
Can I re-use an LCA for an E3 visa renewal if I used the same LCA fora USCIS extension?
Yes, but you likely don't want to.
LCAs don't get “used up”, they are simply a document from the Department of Labor that says your employer has the legal right to offer employment to you. You then take that support with you when you get an extension or renewal, but it's not attached to that particular extension/renewal in any way.
So yes, you can file again with the same LCA, but you likely don't want to do that because it will mean that you are missing out on good visa time available to you.
Why do I say this? Well let's say you filed internally, and got a 2 year extension, then stay in the US for 1 year. Half way through your extension. If you leave the US and go to a Consulate or Embassy for a renewal, and use the same LCA, the LCA will show that you are only able to be employed for one more year (in line with your extension) so your visa will reflect that too.
If you instead filed for a new LCA, then you would be able to keep working for up to two years on that approved visa. A much better solution, especially when getting a visa appointment is such a painful process.
How early can I apply for a new E3 visa?
In theory you can apply for a new visa the day after you got your current one. There's no actual limit to how early you can apply because you're going through the whole process from start to finish (so it's the same as getting a new one).
In practice, though, it's easiest to hold out to within 6 months of your last one expiring if you're staying with your current employer, just because you might get asked why you're doing it so early. Officers can add more scrutiny of they don't understand what you're doing, so if you are going early, just be sure to have a reason (e.g. “I was visiting family and this timing worked best!”)
How do I do all this extending and renewing?
Speak to an immigration attorney, here are some I trust!
This stuff isn't all that straight forward and you don't want to run afoul of immigration, especially if your plan is to live and work in the US for a while longer.
Don't mess around.
Hi Josh,
Thanks for this blog/website I find it really useful and great to have.
I wanted to ask a question about e3 visa renewal. I need to renew my visa by the end of this year. My LCA expires late december. When choosing the date for my new LCA, should I make that date right when my current LCA expires, or should I make it before? Because if i want to go to Aus to renew my visa in November, will i only be able to re-enter the US once the new LCA is started? ( I assume my new visa will start new the new LCA starts). Or can I re-enter the US on my old visa and old LCA and then just stay in the US during the dates when my status transfers to the new LCA and my new visa becomes valid.
Or is it best to just set the LCA dates to be early enough to be before when I want to renew my visa?
Also sorry one more question, I can’t find any offical site still stating that I can do a mail in e3 renewal at the Melbourne US embassy?
Thanks again, I really love this great blog and community of yours. You help a lot of people like me!
Rohan
Hi Josh,
I understand your I-94 status is also linked to the expiry date of your Aussie passport, as I discovered recently.
I was in the process of renewing my Aussie passport – don’t forget the
3 or 6 months of time that some countries insist that must remain on your passport. before it ‘officially’ expires so you can travel.
My E3D(S) was valid until the end of 2024 but on returning to the US after a visit to Oz in December 2022 on my old valid Aussie passport which expired in mid May 2023, my I-94 status stamped was mid May, the exact date as my soon to be expired passport.
Not sure if anyone else has come across this situation ….
I went to Paris on my new 10 year Aussie passport in May 2023 and on my return to the US my I-94 was adjusted to the expiry date of late December 2024 of the original E3D(S) visa .
Hi Josh,
It seems I found your excellent blog a bit too late. I was unaware of the distinction between an extension and renewal. I have an extension that is still valid, but not the visa stamp (didn’t even know that existed). My problem is that I found this out while trying to return home to the US from Europe. I am now stranded in Frankfurt (literally in the airport right now…) and it seems that it may take weeks to get a renewal and get home to my family. I was wondering if you had any tips for this situation? I was wondering if I could “get back in” by applying for an ESTA… Then my status is all fine once I’m home. I presume not, but maybe?
Thank you!
Hi Steven,
I’m so sorry to hear about your situation! You don’t really want to enter on an ESTA because you can’t work and it gets a bit vague about what you can and can’t do while there. Your best bet is to try and find an appointment as quickly as possible in Germany, have you had any luck?
Hi Jose,
Thanks for all this great information that you have shared with this community and I found it really helpful.
My and m wife’s E-3 / E-3D visa stamp will expire in June 2023 along with expiry date of LCA, but my and my wife’s I94 with E-3 / E-3S status will expire on Aug 2024 based on our recent entry to the U.S.
The thing is my company plans to file i129/i539 by early Feb 2023 to extend my and my wife’s E-3 / E-3S status with new LCA for another 2 years, but my wife has to travel between the U.S. and Canad back and forth monthly in the next half year.
While my i129 is pending (maybe few months / my employer seems not willing to pay premium process), do you think she can come back to the U.S. with unexpired E-3D visa before June 2023 ? and then use i94 auto- revalidation to reenter U.S till Aug 2024 ?
Hi Steven, she can definitely enter between now and June because she will still have a valid visa, that is no problem. But staying until August 24 without a valid visa is likely not a good idea. While the stamp might be for up to two years, may lawyers suggest that you should not stay that long. I would suggest speaking to the immigration attorney about the process because it’s quite a complicated scenario!
thank you Josh!!
Hi Josh,
Thanks for all this great information that you share with this community – it’s really helpful!
My e3 visa will be expiring on june29 2023. can I apply for renewal in the month of may(2023) with new LCA in Mexico/Canada . has I have weeding plans in month of august to travel to India. Is it ok to apply for renewal the visa before it expires?
thanks,
sridhar
Yep for sure!
Hi Josh
One more question if you dont mind, I have a current E3 visa but Im looking at going to work for another company in the US in a different job. Trying to figure out which embassy/consulates in Canda or Mexico to apply for a new E3 but can’t clearly find any answers. Can I apply for an E3 at any of them or is it only specific ones in these countries?
Also thank you so much for this website, it is the best I have found to help me with the E3 visa process!
Check out my tracker here: https://americajosh.com/learn-more/immigration/visa-locations/
Hi Josh
when the us embassy websites talk about E3 renewals eg. bahamas is only accepting E3 renewals. What exactly does this mean? Is it a E3 visa renewal for the exact job/position I have now or can it be for my 2nd E3 visa but with new job and company?
Cheers!
Yeah they’re normally fine as long as it’s not your first ever E3. It’s not standardized language so it’s worth reaching out.
Hi Josh
Might be getting a new job with different company in the usa. Planning to exit the country and apply for new E3 visa in either mexico or canada. Im having trouble trying to confirm on the websites if I can apply for the E3 in any of their embassy/consulates or if its just specific ones in these countries. Any info you could provide would be most appreciated. Thanks, Melinda
Hi Josh,
Thanks for all this great information that you share with this community – it’s really helpful!
My E3 is about to expire next month and i went to book an appointment in Dublin. Having gone through Irish US consulate website to do this, it ended up asking me to mail in my documents rather than do an in person interview. Have you heard of situations like this where a mail in can work at embassy’s other than Australian ones? I was just a bit surprised it didn’t give me the option to book an in person appointment.
Thanks
Matt
Whoa that’s exciting! I hadn’t heard of that before!