You've got questions and I've got answers! The E3 Visa is a wonderful resource for Australians, but there are lots of nuances to it and I know some of the questions can get specific, so here you go.
If you're looking for more general information about how to get an E3, then click here to read everything about the E3 visa!
The E3 visa application fee is $315USD (~$481AUD).
This is much cheaper than many other visas because there is no additional cost down the road when you actually get approved. Many visas have an issuance fee after the application fee, but that's not the case with the E-3.
More importantly though there is no cost to the employer. This application fee can be paid by you or the employer, but there is no other work that is required which makes it a much lower barrier than many other visa options available to other international citizens.
Yes. E-3 holders who are attending school incidental to their primary purpose for being in the United States may attend the school of their choice either part-time or full-time (unless otherwise
noted here). You must make sure though that you live up to all your E3 requirements at all times.
This is a question I get asked a lot and the answer is not so straight forward. To do this, and to understand the intricacies of what exactly is an is not allowed, you must speak to a lawyer.
Yes, it's normal that your passport has arrived at a PO Box in St Kilda, Victoria. This is the US Consulate's PO Box and means your passport stamp has arrived back. You should hear from them shortly.
Yes, you need to print out your Certified LCA (it says Certified in the bottom left corner) and have it signed by the person who is detailed in the document. You must take that version to your interview and they will keep it at the end.
They CAN be the same person but they need not necessarily be the same person. The person who signs that declaration of the employer must have the authority to enter into binding contracts on behalf of the company (i.e. an officer of the business entity). The person listed as the employer's point of contact is just the person with whom the agency (USCIS) can communicate about the application.
No restrictions. The E3 is a multiple entry visa which allows you to travel internationally and re-enter the US for the duration of the visa.
If your visa is still valid you can travel to the United States with your two passports, as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for your principal purpose of travel. (Example: tourist visa, when your principal purpose of travel is tourism).
Both passports (the valid and the expired one with the visa) should be from the same country and type (Example: both Uruguayan regular passports, both official passports, etc.). When you arrive at the U.S. port-of-entry (POE, generally an airport or land border) the Customs and Border Protection Immigration Officer will check your visa in the old passport and if s/he decides to admit you into the United States they will stamp your new passport with an admission stamp along with the annotation “VIOPP” (visa in other passport).
Do not try to remove the visa from your old passport and stick it into the new valid passport. If you do so, your visa will no longer be valid.
Yes. I would suggest using the https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ website for last entrances, which includes most if not all. Always be as honest as possible and you can’t go wrong.
This is a very important step and can be found on the Form A-11
Yes, you can! To get your appointment you need a DS-160, and the DS-160 includes a question (that you can leave blank re: LCA). So you can fill the DS-160 in, leave it blank, book an appointment with your confirmed DS-160 number. Then when your LCA gets approved, file a new DS-160, now including your approved LCA number, and then contact the embassy you’re going to and ask to update your DS-160 (because “you needed to update the LCA details”). They should be completely fine with it and away you go.
All embassy locations are unique, so it's important you check with the location you are applying to.
This is a new visa. You will need to leave the country or apply for an internal transfer or status.
Yes, you can get an E3 for a part-time role, it is totally permissible. You can apply for the E-3 with an hourly wage (as opposed to an annual wage) that's over the earning threshold for your profession.
No. You can only work for the company specifically outlined in your E3 Visa.
Yes, you can, there are two ways but you need to be cautious because the E-3 visa is a non dual-intent visa and therefore this can not be your plan when you enter the country.
It's a combination. If you're ending your visa before the length of time allocated on your visa, it's 60 days. If you've finished the visa, then it's 10 days. https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-publishes-final-rule-certain-employment-based-immigrant-and-nonimmigrant-visa-programs
Yes, but your E3 visa will only be valid for that long
Yes. You need to have a job offer from your employer in the United States before you can apply for the E-3 visa.
Yes. Many lawyers will recommend you get your first in Australia, which is a “safer” bet, but there's no requirement for that. You can apply at any U.S. Embassy or Consulate which processes nonimmigrant visas, outside the US.
No, unlike the H1B, the employer in the United States is not required to submit a petition to USCIS as a prerequisite for the E3 visa. However, the employer must obtain a Labor Condition Application (LCA), from the department of labor by filing form ETA Form 9035. There is no fee to submit the ETA9035.
There is a limit of 10,500 visas issued each year, however we've never reached that cap.
You can enter up to 10 days before your job starts.
There is no limit to how long you stay outside the United States, however a condition of your visa is that you are working for your employer so you must remain employed for that period.
In reality, no. There are exceptions like pregnancy which will allow you to take extended leave from your work but as a general rule, you are not allowed to take unpaid leave from your work (as this pay is a requirement for your visa).
Technically no, but it is recommended to ensure your visa is issued correctly and many employers will insist on using a lawyer.
Head to the FLAG, the US website for filing LCAs here https://flag.dol.gov/case-status-search
Yes, you can, in theory, renew the visa indefinitely for up to two years each time. This is always up to the discretion of the immigration officer you are speaking to.
Hi Josh,
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to everyone here and am hoping you will be able to help me out as well.
I am currently working in the States on an E3 visa which was granted to me in June and will expire in December. My work place initially elected for this 6 month contract to allow for somewhat of a trial period for both them and myself. They have since let me know that they want to keep me on and are willing to continue sponsoring my visa which is definitely what I want to do!
My question is; considering I will have only used up 6 months of the initial 2 year period of stay granted to E3 visa holders, and I am keeping the same position within the company, do I need to explicitly apply for a visa extension? Can I keep the status of an E3 visa for longer than 6 months without leaving the country?
My I-94 expiry date is in 2025, 2 years from my initial entry date, but my passport stamp has a December expiry. I have read that: ‘Your visa label in your passport only determines when you can enter the United States. In many situations, an I-94 validity period may be much longer than your E-3 visa validity. In these circumstances, you may not be required to file an E-3 extension of status if your I-94 status is valid for a longer period of time than your visa.’
(https://worldwidemigrationpartners.com/e-3-visa-renewals/)
I really don’t want to do international travel if I don’t need to, but I realise that might be the only way to secure the visa extension.
Also another quick question. I have heard that you are not allowed to apply for a visa extension in neighboring Canada or Mexico. Is that true? Would I have to go further abroad to visit a consulate?
Thank you!
Thanks, Siann! So first things first: E3s can be issued for up to two years, but you have a 6 month one, so the fact that they CAN be issued for up to two years is irrelevant to your situation. You will be renewing/extending your status/visa just like if you were issued a two year visa and then got to the end of it.
The two year I-94 is a bit of a bug in the system as they stamp for two years on each entry, but that’s not really right for what SHOULD happen, they should stamp up to two years but only to the expiry of your visa (and 10 days beyond that).
I would argue that Worldwide Immigration is wrong about this one, and while that’s a strict reading of the letter of the law, it’s not what was intended. Because, that would mean you could get a two year visa, and stay working for four years without any further approval – which doesn’t (in my opinion) pass the sniff test of what the intended spirit of the law is. More on that here: https://americajosh.com/blog/important/i-94-lca-visa-leave-or-stay-america/
That all being said you do have some options to stay in-country but it would mean that when you DO leave the country, you won’t be able to re-enter until you’ve gone through the visa process (but you could stay in the US for up to two years with an internal extension): https://americajosh.com/blog/general/difference-between-extending-renewing-e3-visa/
Re: Canada & Mexico – correct – you need to be resident in those places to go through the process in those places.
Hi Josh, Thanks for your wonderful website, great information, and for your time answering the questions! I have a question related to your answer to Kate’s. You replied to her that “You don’t need a visa to work for a US company outside of the US, but no there’s no residence requirement for an E3 as far as I understand. You may have tax issues though that you will want to look into!”
My question is that how is it possible to work for a US employer when an Australian citizen doesn’t have any type of US visa as almost all US-based positions that I’ve found require the prospective employee to be eligible to work in the US! And ask in the application form that if sponsorship is required for getting a visa!
In simple words, if the nature of my work allows me to work remotely, do I need to get any type of US visa for working for a US employer from within Australia?
Hey Adrian, there’s a separation between what employers require and what is legally required for a visa. Most jobs don’t want to employ someone overseas because it’s much more complicated for their tax, compliance, and payroll. They want a US resident. That being said, if they were willing to offer the role, it can be done. But yep, two separate discussions and finding someone who is willing to employ someone from outside the US is going to be difficult.
Hey Josh,
Long time fan, first time commenting to say so!
Wondering if you happen to know whether a promotion (with same employer) whilst on a current E-3 visa needs to trigger any type of visa event (specifically a renewal)?
I would assume (dangerous 6-letter word) that this would be more seamlessly navigated in conjunction with a planned E-3 Visa Renewal run prior to that 2-year expiry, but also curious as to whether there’s other options available or flexibility generally to receive a promotion during the validity period of a current E-3?
Thank you!
Thanks, James! My understanding is that you do need to file at least an LCA before that comes into action, but it’s also worth filing an I-129 if the change to your job is substantially different to what your visa was issued for. But that one is definitely nuanced and for a lawyer sorry!
Hey Josh,
I can see Tom asked which category the E3’s fall into on the visa wait times website (to be clear: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html)
I’m with Tom that I believe it’s ‘Interview Required Petition-Based Temporary Workers (H, L, O, P, Q)’ but could you confirm? These are the other options fyi –
Interview Required Students/Exchange Visitors (F, M, J)
Interview Required Petition-Based Temporary Workers (H, L, O, P, Q)
Interview Required Crew and Transit (C, D, C1/D)
Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2)
Interview Waiver Students/Exchange Visitors (F, M, J)
Interview Waiver Petition-Based Temporary Workers (H, L, O, P, Q)
Interview Waiver Crew and Transit (C, D, C1/D)
Interview Waiver Visitors (B1/B2)
Grateful for your guidance!
Yep that’s my understanding!
Hi Josh
I saw a question on the E3 by mail program above. I also have this question Do you need to leave the country to do this or can you send it to the Consulate then receive it back in the US? Or must you leave the country to do it? It seems like the timelines are around 30 days so it doesn’t seem very useful if that’s the case.
Thanks
Samantha
Mail-in is ONLY if you are outside the US. You cannot do it from inside the US.
Hi Josh,
I work for a US company on an E3. The company holds quarterly retreats in cities around US and Canada (1 week long). Is it valid to travel to Canada for the purpose of a “work retreat”, and then re-enter the US on my E3 visa status?
Whilst I won’t be doing work per se in Canada, it is more of a social retreat. I just hope that the US border agents won’t interpret me as having done work outside of my LCA zone.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks
As long as you’re compliant with Canadian law, there’s no issue. You can work outside your LCA when you’re outside the US. Visas and status only relate to your activity inside the US.
Hi America Josh,
Thank you for these FAQs and insights.
A question on E-3S (Spouse) visa and working rights…
Hypothetically can someone work for a company located overseas if they are on an E3 under their spouse’s employment (which is USA located)? Or do both parties need to be employed by USA based companies?
Thank you!
The E3S is full work auth, so as long as it’s legal employment, and taxes etc. are paid – You’re good as far as I know!
Couple of questions:
“So the visa would be issued with the LCA dates as the start and finish (unless the interview happens after the LCA start and therefore is dated to start then instead). ”
This is confusing – if interview happens after the LCA start date, then the start date defaults to visa issue date – is this what you mean?
“Once the E3 is active, it’s expected that you are working and earning per that visa right away.”
What determines E3 active status? Does active status begin after admission by CBP or is it just past the point of E3 visa start date?
If one enters past the start date, one can’t begin getting paid immediately, since the employee needs to travel to the company, find a place to live and then company needs to verify work authorization. So the expectation of working immediately is unreasonable isn’t it?
Hi Josh!
What if one enters past the start date indicated on the LCA with an E3? I know one would be admitted, but how soon after admission is the person required to commence employment? Is there an allowance on the amount of time afforded to the person to arrange affairs before beginning employment in that case?
Another scenario is – suppose if the E3 visa was issued before the LCA indicated start date. If one still enters after that start date, will the person still be admitted?
So the visa would be issued with the LCA dates as the start and finish (unless the interview happens after the LCA start and therefore is dated to start then instead). Once the E3 is active, it’s expected that you are working and earning per that visa right away. You can enter the US 10 days before work starts though which is the on-ramp you’re looking for.
You can enter any time after the start of the visa but there is still an expectation that you are working.
Hi Josh
Quick question on the E3 by mail program. Do you need to leave the country to do this or can you post it to the Embassy then receive it back in the US (or sent it to a relative in Australia and have them post it)? I’m aware that after receiving a new visa I’d need to leave the US and reenter to update my I-94.
Thanks!