Update 1: I’ve recently written an updated post covering how to get your visa in Canada, with some fresh details around the DS-160 and appointment process.
About two months ago I moved to Silicon Valley from my home town of Wollongong in Australia. While the process of moving was fraught with a lot of personal logistical issues, the act of getting to the US was pretty easy – I was able to just get on a plane and fly to San Francisco and get through customs without a visa.
This is because, like many countries, Australia is on the 90 day Visa Waiver program, which allows you to spend up to 90 days in the US for a range of purposes, including business (attending meetings, conferences, etc) and pleasure (tourism, etc) without any paperwork or hassle (except for having a valid ESTA – but the form is all online and it is super easy to complete).
However, this situation has a bunch of limitations.
- You can’t get a social security number. This is a big deal – a “social” is how pretty much everyone in the US identifies you, and is central to how credit checks are run. If you want a credit card, you need a social. If you want to process credit card payments online – even though it is through your company entity – you need a social. Thinking of signing a lease for somewhere to live? It is possible, but they’ll want a social too to run a credit check. The list goes on and on and on.
- You’re limited to 90 days at a time, and things can get tricky. So, you’re going to be spending at least $10K per year in airfares leaving every 90 days. You don’t want to go right to the edge of the 90 day limit since over-staying can result in a later visa request getting refused (even if over-staying was the fault of the weather and cancelled flights). You also need to be gone for a meaningful period to reset the 90 day clock – 24 hours in Vancouver or Mexico doesn’t count if you’re an Australian from what I’ve been told. And, if you come back in for another 90 days a fortnight after leaving last, and this is the 5th time you’ve done it, there’s every chance the guys at the border will think you’re up to something suss and deny you entry, sending you back on the next flight. Aside from the uncertainty around this and grief if it happens, you also have the problem that being denied entry into the US puts you in a difficult place if you want a visa – red flags go up.
So, I needed to get a Visa, and if you’re doing this, you will to.
The good news is, it was actually really easy. You don’t need to pay a lawyer $2000 to what amounts to filling in a few online forms. You do, however, have to navigate some arcane, acronym laden systems that took me a bit of trial and error to get through.
Hopefully this how-to guide will help you with your application.
Overview/TL;DR
The E-3 Visa is a 2 year visa that is available to Australians who are offered employment in the United States by a US company. The short version is this:
- Make sure you’ve got a Bachelors degree or better (Graduate Diploma, Masters, Doctorate, etc).
- Find a company willing to hire you for a degree-qualified role, or set up your own company in the US.
Note about Degree Qualified Roles: we’ve had questions come up from time to time with people wanting to get a role that doesn’t normally require a degree (eg, a chef, etc). From a great post on ILW, Gary Endelman explains “They have to be H-1B eligible in the sense of having a relevant college or university degree to perform professional services in a specialty occupation involving the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.” The LCA process will actually allow you to select any role category you want, and some have much lower prevailing wages, but it is the judgement of the consular officer when reviewing your petition that determines if you’re in a specialty occupation and if you have a relevant degree.
Note about your own Company: setting up a company is legit if you’re getting offices, hiring people and you can show how the company is going to be able to fund this and your salary for the next two years. Setting up a sham front company to hire yourself out as a contractor isn’t recommended; I know people who’ve been rejected because the consular staff didn’t think the sponsoring company was legit enough. Expect to show up with your balance sheet, P&L, and demonstrate investment, clients or anything else you need to show the new business will be a going concern – remember, if you get rejected, you’ve now been classed as someone the US has denied a visa to – a black mark that is very hard to work around in the future. - If you set up your own company, get your FEIN online (also known as an EIN or a TIN).
- The company will need to apply for an Labor Condition Application (LCA) for Nonimmigrant Workers (9035 form, online)
- Book an appointment with the US Consulate in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth (there’s a charge associated with this). Leave yourself at least 2 weeks from when you submit your LCA application, since you’ll need this to be processed & certified to take to the appointment. Update: you can now get your first E3 visa in Toronto, Vancouver and probably other US Department of States around the world; when I first wrote this the E3 was so new these other consulates hadn’t really heard of it, and saying no was easier than learning about it to say yes (even though the only rule is that you have to apply outside of the US).
- Actually complete your DS-160 online (it takes about an hour). Note you’ll need to have a digital photo of yourself where the lighting is good, the background is a white/bone wall, and you’re not smiling or having too much fun.
- Pay the fee for the visa application of
US$390US$205/A$225 as part of your interview process. - Go to your interview, take your passport, your letter of offer from the company to yourself (I know, it sounds silly, but this is a big deal) and the other paperwork they ask you to have, and hopefully they’ll approve you.
- Your passport should be back to you within a week.
- You’re now good to live and work in the US for 2 years and travel in and out of the country without restriction. The border guards will sometimes still be c*nts – at LAX almost every time, at SFO occasionally, but that’s just them making up for an adolescence of being bullied who now have a gun and some power.
1. Finding a company or setting up your own
The E-3 visa requires you to be employed/sponsored by a company. It basically ties your right to live and work in the US to the company that makes you the offer and completes what is known as the LCA process. If you find someone who will sponsor you, they’ll need to complete Step 3 below, and once they’ve got you an LCA, you can then head to Step 4.
However, if you’re an entrepreneur doing a startup, you’ll instead want to get your own US entity. Keep reading.
The decision about which entity is right for you is a bigger issue than I can cover in this post. Generally speaking though, you’ve got two options:
- Register an LLC, probably in Delaware. This is like the Australian equivalent of a trust – all profits made by this entity “pass through” to the “shareholders” or members of the LLC, and are paid at their own tax rate. It is a “lightweight” company, and can be flipped up to a C-Corp later. This will set you back a few hundred bucks, and you can easily do it yourself.
- Register a C-Corp, probably in Delaware. This is the Australian equivalent of a Pty Ltd company, which can have shareholders, the ability to retain (and thus pay company income tax on) profits and has higher costs of setup, more paperwork (need for office-holders, etc) and other hassles. However, if you’re going to the US to raise capital (seek investment), this is the vehicle you’re going to want).
You can register for these entities online – there are lots of options you’ll get when you do a Google Search for “Delaware LLC registration” or “Delaware C-Corp registration”.
The registration process will take up to a week to happen. You won’t need a US address to do it, and you can change the papers after you set up an office and you’ve moved to the US, so don’t worry too much.
A note about relocating/flipping up
If you already have a business in Australia, then things are more complicated than just registering a new entity in Delaware via an online broker. Moving your business to the US is known as “flipping up”, and there are a lot of reasons why you would want to do it.
For one, few US investors will be prepared to invest in your Australia Pty Ltd company. You can make the LLC a subsidiary of your Australian company easily enough – and this is the best approach for tax reasons too thanks to US tax treaties – but investors will want to make sure their investment is in the parent company or eventual owner of the intellectual property. Even if you manage to grow the business without needing external investment, you might find that potential acquirers will have difficulties working between US and Australian law in an acquisition.
The other big reason why flipping up is a good idea is that capital gains tax rates are also lower in the US (so you’ll pay less tax if you are successful and sell the company, either to an acquirer or to the public through an IPO).
If you decide to flip up, if you’re not careful, the act of moving the company to the US or flipping up will likely trigger a “Capital Gains Tax Event”, where the Australian Taxation Office see you as selling your Australian company to a new, US company, and demand you pay tax to the ATO (which can be as high as 50%) even though the movement was all just on paper (and you don’t have a fat bank balance).
Get good advice on this – unless you don’t have anything in the form of a company in Australia already, spend the money – $10,000+ depending on how complex your mess situation is here in Australia – and do it right.
2. Registering for your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
Once you have your entity – either an LLC or a C-Corp – registered you’ll want to apply for a Federal Employee Identification Number, often called simply an EIN. This is basically the same sort of thing as a Tax File Number but for a company, and we can think of it as being an equivalent government identifier as an ABN (although you never need to put it on invoices!)
If you flipped up your company, your lawyers will likely have applied for one of these for you – ask them for it.
If you created your own C-Corp and you’re just a stock holder, you can apply for your EIN online at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html
If you registered an LLC which is “owned” or a subsidiary of your Australian company, or held in your own name, you’ll need to register for the EIN by calling the IRS. The phone number is +1 267-941-1099.
This process is exceptionally simple – the government *want* you on their database so they can track you and the taxes that you and your employees will owe them.
Once you’ve got your EIN, you’re ready to ask for permission to hire yourself from the US Department of Labor, step 3 below.
3. Submitting your ETA Form 9035E for Labor Condition Application (LCA)
The next part of the process is the most time consuming – your employing company needs to ask the US Department of Labor for permission to employ you.
In this sense, the US is no different to many other advanced economies – they don’t want employers bringing in cheaper international workers which put downward pressure on wages for their citizens and they don’t want employers take advantage of employees by paying them low wages. Whether this form of protection is inherently fair or is actually a manifestation of racism and xenophobia, it is a fact of life, so we’ve all got to live with it.
The process of asking permission to hire a foreign worker is actually one of the less shit online processes followed by the US Government. The system is relatively straight forward, the form is smart, and while the instructions and acronyms are confusing, the instructions below should help you through it. Remember, this is the bit that you normally pay a lawyer $2000 to do for you – if these instructions help and save you some coin, then feel free to buy me beers when you see me or offer to make a donation to a charity.
Before you create your account
The first step is to create an account on the Department of Labor’s iCert system. This is free and relatively easy, but you’re going to need to get some bits ready ahead of time.
Remember, at this point, you’re applying as a business which is going to hire you – this is where physical presence starts to matter. This means the business is going to need to have an address and a phone number.
Address
You can get an address with Earth Class Mail, or use the address of your Attorneys as an interim measure. If you have friends there who don’t mind you putting down their address, then that can work too. The LCA process is very specifically tied to the location you’re going to be working from – since the rate for a programmer is much higher in San Francisco than North Dakota – so put some thought into this.
Phone
There are lots of ways to get a phone number. If you’re already in the US and you’ve got a pre-paid number, do yourself a favour and get Google Voice set up ASAP, and use that number (since the prepaid ones go back into the mix if you don’t keep renewing them, and US portability sucks compared to here in Australia). If you’re not in the US, get yourself a Skype In number and get it for the city and area code where you say your office is going to be. That means, for San Francisco, make sure the number starts with 415. Alternatively, you can go to GrassHopper and get an 800 or an 877 number. As I said, there are lots of options here – just get it set up before you try and do this bit.
Creating your Account
Once you have an address and a phone number, head over to http://icert.doleta.gov/ and click on the “Create Your Portal Account Today” link, then after accepting the terms click on the “Create Employer Account”.
Once there, you’ve got a 3 page form to work through. Most of it is self explanatory, but some is a bit tricky.
- For the E-3 visa, you’ll want to tick the LCA box.
- The FEIN is the number you got in step 2 above.
- The NAICS code (stands for North American Industry Classification System) is like the Aussie ANZIC code. It is a standardised category of business types. You can search for them from the iCert form, or from the US Census office, but the easiest way to find them is to drill down into them so you don’t have outliers which match a keyword confusing you. You can drill down into them using this page, and then on the iCert page just search for the specific code.
- DBA means “doing business as”. It is equivalent as “trading as” here in Australia.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll get an email from oflc.portal@dol.gov with your temporary password in it. Make sure you check your spam for this email, and whitelist that address (everything comes from there from here on in, including certification and denial notifications.
Applying for the E-3 LCA
The LCA application itself is a bunch more work, but thankfully it is a really good online form. To access it, simply log in, Click on “LCA” on the top, and then down the bottom click on “Begin New ETA Form 9035”.
Page 1 – Preconditions
This page is about undertakings – they basically want you to warrant that you’re going to make the LCA available to the staff member you hire, that you’re going to tell the truth, and explain how you’ll provide it to the person you hire.
Since you’re hiring yourself, it is pretty much a non issue 😉
Answer Yes to A, Yes to B and select the first option for C
Page 2 – The Visa type and job classification
The visa type is easy -E-3.
The position is harder. Basically, you need to find the best approximation for your position, and enter this. The effect of the value you choose is significant – it will determine the minimum salary you need to pay yourself to satisfy the conditions of the visa.
Step 1 – Find Your Position
Finding your position can be a bit tricky, particularly if you’re a founder – you do everything in your company, right?! You can search the database at http://www.onetcodeconnector.org but for what it is worth, I did a bit of searching to find something legitimate/accurate and not too highly priced (as per the next step). I found that “General and Operations Managers”, which has a SOC code of 11-1021 was pretty good, as it was both accurate and not too expensive (CEO on the other hand is expensive. You could also go for 15-1131 which is computer programmer, which has a lower minimum ($63K vs $73K). I’ve also heard of people putting their title as “Administrative Officer, CEO”, which allows a lower prevailing wage ($36K).
Step 2 – Work out Prevailing Wage
The second step is where you determine the prevailing (read: minimum for a foreigner) wage, which you can work out by going to http://www.flcdatacenter.com/. The process is pretty easy, and geography plays a big part. Do not lie about your geography though – the E-3 visa is only valid for you working for the company that gets the LCA for you in the place where they specify.
Page 3 – Employer information
This is easy – it just gets copied from the info you already entered when you registered. Win.
Page 4 – Attorney information
If you’re doing this yourself, you just need to say you don’t have an attorney. Easy. Win.
Page 5 – Pay information
This is where you tell the Department of Labor what you’re going to pay yourself. Remember, this is important, and it needs to be more that the minimums set out on the http://www.flcdatacenter.com/ website for the SOC code you’ve selected.
In section F, rate of pay, enter your annual salary. Leave the “to” empty, and select annually.
In section G, they’re looking for you to tell them why this is a fair rate (ie, is greater than the minimum). There are other places to get the minimum than the FLC Data Center website, however, it is normally only for more unionised types of blue-collar roles. Since this probably isn’t you, just stick with the OES wage. Stick to the Level 1 pay scale for the role you’re doing, and put in the value from the FLC Data Center search and tick the “OES” box. Also make sure you reference the FLC Data Center website as the source for the OES data.
The screen above is from a completed form in PDF format, but the questions should still line up.
Page 6 and 7 – Declarations
You don’t need to fill in the bit about being H1B dependent since this is an E-3.
The rest of the form is just standard commitment stuff. Once you’re done, you can submit it.
Common speed bumps
There are a few speed bumps that can get you. Here a couple.
- They decline your application because the Employer doesn’t have a valid 9-digit FEIN.
This is because the databases that sync between the IRS applications for an EIN and the database the Department of Labor use have lag/delays in them. If this happens, you can just reply with a scanned or PDF version of the EIN confirmation from the IRS. - You enter the wrong prevailing wage info.
This is where I got stuck initially. The FLC Data Center is your friend – use it. I initially didn’t know about that site, and tried going through government agencies to find “award” type information, but it was only applicable for blue collar roles so I thought it didn’t apply to me and I could use a job search for “office manager” on Monster.com to find my prevailing wage. As it turns out, that isn’t good enough 😉
Timing
When I submitted my application, it took them about 3 business days to reject it if there was something wrong with it. Of course, I was learning as I went so I had two rejected applications before I got one accepted, so you’ll want to leave yourself some time here.
I was lucky and got my approval through in 4 business days, but they say that you should expect 7 to 10 business days. Keep this in mind when you book your appointment with the US consulate in Step 4 below.
4. Booking a Visa Appointment
Once you’ve submitted your LCA application – and ideally, you should wait until you’ve had your LCA granted – you need to make an appointment to the US consulate. This process is surprisingly straight forward, even if the wording is a bit weird.
- You pay for a PIN, which is the right to book an appointment, it is only $14, and they don’t accept American Express 😉 (Visa and Mastercard only)
- The system will show you available booking slots. My advice – get in as early in the day as you can, as the place is a bit like a doctor’s surgery – the later you book, the longer the backlog will be if they’re running behind time. When you book an appointment, you can move it a maximum number of times.
- You can only move the appointment more than 2 business days before the appointment date. So, if the appointment is on Monday, you only have until midnight on Thursday night of the week before to move it. This is in the time zone of the appointment, so if you come in on Thursday morning in the US and realize your LCA still hasn’t come through yet, bad luck – you have to pay for a new PIN.
5. The DS-160 Application
The DS-160 Application is a form that forms the basis of your actual visa request – the LCA is just one of the supporting documents you need.
The application is actually the sharpest thing I’ve seen the US government do online. The form is smart and high quality. You can come back to it any time using the Application ID in the top right and the security question you enter just after you start.
The application is started from https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/.
A few notes:
- You’ll need to upload a digital photo. Their system for handling these uploads is very clever. It will tell you if your head is too small or too big in shot. It will tell you if the background isn’t plain and boring. It will tell you if the light isn’t good enough. It will tell you if it can’t see your eyes (so make sure the flash is on). You can, however, take the shot using a smart phone camera, since they don’t need it to be super huge in pixels or filesize. More info at http://travel.state.gov/visa/visaphotoreq/digitalimagereq/digitalimagereq_5327.html.
- You’ll want to have your passport on you. Unless you know not only the number, but also the issue date and expiry date. Since Australian passports don’t specify the location of issue, I just said “Canberra” and all was good.
- You’ll need to know the data and place of birth of both of your parents. Since you’re probably doing this in a hurry, ask them first.
- They’ll want you to list all the countries you’ve visited in the last 5 years. I don’t think this is a big deal, but if you have been to somewhere America doesn’t like – like Iran or North Korea or Syria – this might be a problem. I don’t know how they can check this though, other than looking at the stamps in your passport.
- There are lots of crazy questions about things like moving to the US to be a prostitute, or having an army of child soldiers. As far as I can tell, the reason they do this isn’t because you’ll admit to those things, but because it makes it very easy for them to cancel your visa if they have reason to believe you lied on your application. Much easier than having to prosecute you in an American court for having an army of child soldiers in your past in another jurisdiction.
Once you’ve submitted the DS-160, you’ll get a confirmation page with your photo, a summary of key information and a barcode. Print this and take it with you on the appointment day.
6. Visa Appointment Day
The visa appointment day is pretty interesting. A few notes and tips.
- Make sure you bring all the documents and evidence they want. I won’t list it here because the appointment confirmation in Step 4 will tell you, and I don’ t want to get you in trouble if you rely on this blog post and they change something. I was super prepared, and took the following:
- My passport. Very important.
- The full print out of the LCA. They only took a couple of pages from it, and gave me back the rest of it. Suggest you take it all too.
- The confirmation page for the DS-160. This was critical – they needed it, and it became the anchor for all their other paperwork.
- My actual degree. They didn’t need it.
- My transcript. They didn’t need it.
- A print out of the P&L of my Australian company to prove I could afford to live in the US. They didn’t need it, but if they suspect your newly formed US entity is a sham/shell being able to prove you have clients, revenues, etc is going to be a very big deal. I got questions about this and answered them confidently, and know companies I’ve been an investor in have had questions (we’ve raised venture capital and we’re moving the business to the US is legit), but “I set up the company so I could get a visa and then be a contract labourer with no job security or likeihood I can pay myself to be honest” is what you don’t want to be flagged as.
The rest of this is specific for my experience in Sydney. Hopefully knowing what you’re in for will make it a bit easier and you’ll be a bit more confident. Remember, this is an interview – they’re deciding at this point if you can get your visa.
- For Sydney, the reception area is on Level 10 of the MLC building, which is just above the food court and near a bunch of doctor’s surgeries. This reception area is just used for screening you, and your bags stay down in this area. They have a dedicated lift that goes to the super-secure consulate on Level 59 after you clear screening, and you’ll be escorted up there. It is all pretty serious really.
- The screening process is hard core, with you going through a metal detector and your bag going through a screening process too. Bring the barest of stuff in any bag. You not only have to take out your laptop, but also any “wires” in your bag. If you bring a laptop bag with lots of cables like I did, be prepared to have them rib you – where’s the kitchen sink? – and also realize you’re slowing down everyone else in the line.
- You can’t take your mobile phone upstairs, so when they say to turn it off, turn if off. Same with laptops – sleep isn’t good enough, but hibernate would be (they just want to make sure they’re not seeing flashing lights).
- Take a book to read. These are still allowed when you go upstairs, and since you’ll be waiting for around an hour all told, take a book.
- After you pass screening, there will be some staff who check that you’ve got the key things you need, outlined above. They will combine the key things – your passport, your DS-160 confirmation, your express post envelope and your receipt from Australia Post and your LCA – and put a rubber band around it. If there’s a problem here, they’ll send you on your way.
- When this is done, you’ll wait for a trip up to Level 59 in the lift.
- When you get to Level 59, a security person behind very bullet proof glass will check you first and allow you through the heaviest bullet proof glass door I’ve every seen to your right hand side. Have a look at the security console while the guard is checking your paperwork wad – it looks like something from a James Bond flick.
- After you go through the door on Level 59, get a ticket from the machine just to your right after pressing “non immigrant visa”. Then line up and you’ll be called by this number to windows 2, 3 or 4.
- They’ll check your rubber band collection of papers, and hold onto them, leaving you your number. Grab a seat to the room on the right of the big heavy door you walked in through and take a seat in the waiting room. This is where the book comes in handy – you’ll probably be waiting half an hour or so.
- Wait for your number to come up. You’ll be called to windows 6 or 7, where someone will talk to you on the other side of bullet proof glass through a microphone and speaker system. Everyone in the waiting room will hear your conversation. If you ticked the box in the DS-160 saying you have a sexually transmitted disease, everyone will now know. If you have a criminal record, expect to be asked about it in detail, and expect everyone waiting to hear. Suck it up – you don’t know any of these people (probably), and if your time waiting was like mine, you’ll hear plenty of stories of woe from weirdos and freaks that will make you seem much more normal. I don’t know if my favourite was the 65 year old cooking teacher/missionary who ticked yes to being arrested even though she was just cautioned 25 years ago when her friend shoplifted a bottle of lemonade, or the guy who was an unemployed musician having a lot of difficulty answering the question about what he does for work.
- I was asked by everyone if it was my first E-3 visa. I don’t know if things were smoother or more difficult because of it, but everyone official wanted to know.
The Interview
Expect to get questions about your company, why you’re moving there, what your company does, how many staff you have here in Australia. If you’re well prepared, confident and make a compelling reason why you’re going to be a good visitor – and remember, the E-3 is a visitor or non-immigrant visa – then you should get through smoothly. If you’re lucky, the interview will go for 5 minutes maximum, and you’ll be told then your visa is approved.
When you leave, head down to Level 10, get your stuff from the guards, and be on your way.
They’ll then stick the visa into your passport, and send it back to you. My appointment was on a Monday morning, and I got my passport back on a Wednesday morning (in Wollongong), but your mileage might vary.
Fallacies (in my case at least)
As with all things that relate to governments, laws and other black-boxes which you’re desperate to have a good outcome from, there are a lot of things I heard from people that didn’t bear out in my case. Just because they didn’t happen to be issues for me doesn’t mean they’re not ever true, but they just didn’t happen to be issues in my case.
- “You need to have a board of directors in your company who can ‘fire you’ otherwise they won’t see you as being in an employment relationship and won’t grant you an LCA”. This wasn’t the case for me – hell, the people at the LCA assessment centre didn’t even have up to date records on the EIN. Delaware has a very strong corporate veil, and I don’t think you even have to disclose outside Delaware who your company directors are. Basically, this was a non issue – I submitted my LCA in my own name, saying I wanted to hire myself, for a C-Corp which had just been formed. And they gave it an approval in under 4 days.
- You have to go to Australia to get your first E-3 Visa. While this used to be the case, I’ve got friends who’ve gotten their first E-3 Visa in Toronto, for example. My understanding is that any consulate outside the US will do, BUT, this is still such an unknown visa class that you’ll probably be out of luck most places. I have a friend who WAS turned away from Mexico City, and others who’ve successfully gotten them in Canada – not sure how to check in advance, but just letting my East Coast friends know they can avoid LAX hell and get one from the friendly Canadians just north of the border.
- A three year degree in Australia doesn’t count as a Degree (since in the US a bachelors degree is 4 years). This sounds like bullshit immigration lawyer advice earned legitimately through getting people through the nightmare paperwork associated with H1B and Green Card applications. I’ve never heard of it applying AT ALL to the E-3 process; the paperwork in general is a LOT lower and the decision is made by an officer in the consular office while they’re talking to you for a period normally no more than 3 minutes.
Saying Thanks
I’ve had a bunch of people email me and ask how they can say thanks for the advice. If you’d like to say thanks and you don’t already have an account with Uber or Lyft, feel free to say thanks by using my invite code (below) and you’ll be helping me out with extra credit and getting some credit to start with yourself too:
- Uber: 9xybb
- Lyft: GEOFF304
Asking for Help
A few people have been contacting me directly asking for comment, advice, a call to discuss their specific circumstances, etc. I’d love to help, but I’m not going to, and even if I wasn’t working 100 hour weeks, I wouldn’t answer your personal, specific issues. This post exists solely as a journal of a personal experience. I’m not a lawyer, and I’m in no position to give specific advice. You are, however, most welcome to tap the accumulated personal experiences of the thousands of other folks who’ve gone through their own journey by entering a comment below with your questions, feedback or personal experience for others to benefit from. But please don’t waste your time and mine asking me directly for advice.
geoffmcqueen.com 
Hi Geoff,
Thanks heaps for a wonderful blog on how to get E3 visa.
I have some questions regarding E3 visa.
1. Does my Bachelor Degree needs to be related to the offered job in USA? Because I have approved LCA from employer in USA for Motel Manager. And I have studied Bachelor of Commerce and currently working as Finance Officer in Sydney. So my current work experience is not related to the offered job in USA.
Can you please help me on this?
Regards.
Jay
I don’t think your *current* job experience (Finance) matters at all, but your degree and the job you’re going for can matter a lot. I’ve heard of some people with an arts degree successfully getting a visa on an offer to be a secretary, but you’re very much rolling the dice. As long as your motel manager job looks to be a “management” job for a decent operation (where you’re using a commerce degree is useful for crunching data around occupancy and profitability) and not a guy who sits at the front desk of a hostel through the graveyard shift I think you’ll probably be OK.
Thank you very much Geoff for very helpful information. A job I am going to do will have management tasks, accounting tasks, analyzing financial information etc. and it will not have just sitting at front desk and doing check in check outs. So I am hoping that my Commerce degree is very much related to tasks I am going to perform as Motel Manager.
Thanks.
Jay
Awesome – great to hear Jay. Just wanted to mention that as the visa was very much created for mutual recognition of “professionals” between the two countries and some folks have come unstuck because they haven’t been showing up with an LCA for a professional role (sure, it is above the LCA min threshold for salary, but it has been knocked back on that basis)
Awesome advice – I have done this process and it worked great.
Now, what if I want to take some work from a new employer? Can I just do that as a “second” job and keep my E3 with my company?
I have been using a W9 for small contract jobs (related to my company), but these guys want a W4 and basically to employ me.
Thank you!
Jennifer.
I’m not 100% on this Jennifer and Mark, but my understanding is that as long as you remain employed by the company the sponsored you under the terms (re: min wage) that they sponsored you, you’re complying with the terms of your visa and can “moonlight” without any problems.
Hi Geoff,
Great website with lots of advice. I was wondering if I get a company to sponsor me and I move over on the E3 visa. Can you also start business up over there on the side when working for an employer?
Thanks
Mark
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for a awesome article on how to get E3 visa.
I have couple of questions regarding E3 visa.
1. I have an Associate Degree in Visual arts & Design (2 years full time) and Diploma in Printing & Graphic Arts (Multimedia) (2 Years full time) and working from past 3 years as a UI Developer (Full Time). I have a User Interface Designer job offer from a California based company. Do you think this is enough to get E3 Visa?
2. My Wife in American Citizen & Australian Citizen. Do you think this will work in my favor?
Couple of other factors:
1. I have B1 / B2 Visa (10 Years) and I have visited twice In Laws in the US.
2. I got my Australian Citizenship just 3 months ago and I have been living in Australia for past 9 years.
Could you please help me on this?
Regards,
Vikas
Hi Geoff,
This is such great information. However, I’m yet to find a position in the US (Los Angeles), it looks like I’ll have a better chance in finding a postioon while I am there. Also, I am finding there is such conflicting information about the E3 visa, and the labour certificate.
I heard it can take approx. 6 months to process? Is this true? Or is it case by case bases?
False re: 6 months. True re: easier to actually get a job while in the US
Hi Geoff,
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience.
Recently, an US based IT consulting company offered some sub-contracted work to me. They would like me to be working onsite in the US but they only can engage me as a contractor.
Does that mean they cannot apply the E3 visa for me? I am planning to register a company in the US and use the company to sign the sub-contracting contract with the US based IT consulting company and hire myself as a contractor to do the work. In this situation, do you think I can sponsor myself for the E3 visa? Is this considered as “Setting up a sham front company to hire yourself out as a contractor isn’t recommended”?
In Australia, I operate a small IT consulting company which specialising in some enterprise-class software. I have been running this company since March 2014 and I have project with a number of clients in Sydney and Melbourne. My clients are banks and utility companies and the work which I will be doing in the US will have similar kind of clients.
Thanks a lot.
Chong
Great post Geoff,
I have a question, if you are going to hire yourself, what is the benefit of a E-3 over E-2 or L-1?
Couldn’t you also obtain a E-2 visa when you start your own business, or set up a subsidiary when you already have an Australian entity?
Is E-3 simply easier to obtain?
Thanks.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for such an informative post. I’m currently in the US looking for work and have both a master’s and bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice. So far not much luck, as I seem to only qualify for a criminal justice teacher or legal assistant from the list of OES professions. However I can’t teach without teaching experience, and despite my education, I lack a paralegal certificate and experience to be a legal assistant.
I have a quick question for you: I’ve noticed on your blog, and a few others that I’ve read, that you’ve gone straight from the LCA step to the visa interview. Did you not need to submit the I-129 (petition for a non-immigrant worker) form? I’ve read on the http://www.uscis.gov site that it’s an essential step for the E-3 visa, but am curious why you didn’t need it.
I’ve recently found a startup that would like to employ me, but I’m concerned our application will be rejected because their total earnings are only slightly more than the prevailing wage they’ll need to declare they’re going to pay me. Suggestions?
Lonnie.
As long as the earnings are over, you should be fine.
In terms of the I-129, I *believe* it is an alternate path to being assessed outside the US (like if you’re already here on a B visa and want to get an E visa); it involved on-shore processing, takes forever, and you can’t leave the country without it. I know I never needed an I-129 petition.
Thanks for your reply, Geoff.
Interesting that all the websites say you need the I-129 when you didn’t actually require it. Employers seem to baulk at sponsoring foreigners because they think it’ll cost tens of thousands of dollars, but if the LCA filing is free and the only cost is at the visa interview, it’s really very inexpensive. I’ve done some further reading, and it seems that the I-129 is indeed used to transfer from one visa to another.
Hi Lonnie, I am also looking to travel to the US on a bachelors of Criminal Justice and cant seem to find any information for people securing E3 visa’s for jobs outside of IT/Finance! I’d love to hear how you go and from anyone else securing jobs in otherwise unusual degrees!
Hi Guys
I got a question:
I am currently working for a consulting firm, when i got my E3 and LCA the location was for an in house project and located in Houston,TX now they have asked me to to do consulting in California for an external company.
Are you allowed to do consulting for an external company while in an E3 visa?? and i am assuming i need to get my LCA updated? is there anything else i need to do from my end?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
You’ve still got the same W2 employer, right?
yes its the same employer, but i will be consulting for another company and in another location.
The LCA is the employer’s responsibility – I wouldn’t say anything if i were you because a nee LCA means a new E3 and that’s a lot of hassle given the consequences of saying/doing nothing which are extremely likely to be, well, nothing.
thanks for your advice, much appreciated
Thanks for the response.
So to confirm if my employer tells me that they need to give me a new LCA, in that event i would need to apply for a new E3 visa? is that correct
I believe so. The E3 is directly downstream from the LCA
Hi Geoff,
Is there a minimum work contract time? i.e. can a E3 visa be granted for a 2 month contract work (hourly pay)? Assuming that all other E3 requirements are met, what is the minimum length of contract duration?
Thanks
Buu
I’m pretty sure it is only for full time jobs.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for the amazing info. I am just setting up an LLC after which I will complete the E3 visa process. Can the LLC be in my name if I’m aiming to establish an employer-employee relationship? Who signs the job offer letter?
Huge thanks.
Sorry Geoff, accidental repeat. Can you delete this post please? Thanks.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for the amazing info. I’m setting up an LLC after which I’ll complete the E3 visa process. Can the LLC be in my name if I’m wanting to establish and employer/employee relationship?
Thanks so much.
Hey Geoff,
You’ve got some great info on your site!
I was wondering if you’d be able to offer me any help/advice, because right now I’m ready to pull my eyelashes out!
I have been on the e3 visa in the USA for the past 3 years. I am a veterinarian and just recently I was selected for an internship program starting as soon as I can get my visa sorted. This is an amazing opportunity and the first step of my future career as a specialist doctor. However, I am not sure how this is going to work with the e3 visa. The internship is still considered a job, as we are employed, however the pay is significantly lower than the average wage (as is the case with all medical internships worldwide, think slave labor!). So I’m concerned whether my e3 visa will be accepted, or because it is an internship and interns are paid much lower will that be ok? I just don’t want to get to my consualte interview and get denied because of the wage. Or is there another visa I should be applying for as it is consider a ‘student’ type position. Someone suggested the J1 visa, but it seems awfully complicated and I’d rather stick with something I know – the E3!
Any help, advice you can give me on this matter would be so GRATELY appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for all the information. I am a marketing professional from Melbourne and my biggest hurdle has been finding an employer who is prepared to sponsor – mainly, from what I can tell, because they don’t know about the E3 visa.
Do you have any tips on connecting with employers who are familiar with the E3?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Geoff,
I’m an Australian designer hoping to make a leap of faith to the States.
But I seem to be in a tricky situation.
I have a Diploma in IT, an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design and 5+ years of work experience. Those years were spent at Australia’s top digital agency if that helps my case.
I was wondering if you have ever come across someone who scored an E3 Visa WITHOUT a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years work experience?
Is there any leniency or ways around it?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
Just want to salute you for being such an awesome human being and investing your time to create this invaluable knowledge asset and sharing it freely. Good karma will surely come to you!
Question. I’m on an E3 and employed through a firm. Can I also setup a company for a small start up idea? Or does this breach my visa conditions? Thanks so much!!!
IMHO, until you don’t pay yourself, and therefore do not “work”, I think (I hope as I am considering the same path) it may be OK. Ownership (full or even partial – with associates) of a company does not constitute work.
Thanks! What’s IMHO? So you’re saying that it’s ok as long as i’m not paid through the company? Is there a government ‘rule book’ i could read?
Hi Geoff,
I am an Australian Citizen wanting to move to California. I have a Bachelor of Education majoring in Physical Education and Computer Education. I should be eligible for an E3 Visa. My problem now is that I need to find a job before I can apply for the E3 Visa. I have reached out to a couple of future employers however, they all require me to hold my California Teaching Credentials from the Commission. In order to process my application – I require either a Social Security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. From my knowledge I am unable to apply for a Social Security number without a Visa and I’m unsure whether I will be approved for an ITIN.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you
ITIN is ease or else the millions of hard working Mexican visitors here wouldn’t be paying as much tax as they do. The IRS just wants your money and the ITIN is like your TFN in AU.
thanks geoff! this page is really helpful!!!
Hi!
I hope this isn’t poor form or bad etiquette to post this here – I am genuinely just trying to help others avoid the mistakes that I made in my E3 visa application. Please feel free to delete / edit my comment if need be. I don’t want to detract from your blog post as an amazing source of information and education for anyone wanting to learn more about the E3 Visa.
I posted here a few months ago about a failed visa application after trying to start my own company in the USA and ‘sponsor myself’. The rejection was devastating for me and has had some real, lasting consequences regarding traveling to the USA on the ESTA waiver program in future.
I’m happy to say now I’m living and working in the USA on an E3 after a change in my situation and a few months of getting together another visa application. I’ve written a blog post on my website about my experience and where I went wrong, which is available here – http://jamesmorrell.com/blog/e3-visa-self-sponsorship
I want it to serve as a resource for people to learn from my experience and avoid the same mistakes. I mention your blog in the post, as it ended up saving me fees (since I was able to do part of the application myself) when dealing with a lawyer for my visa re-application, so THANK YOU!
The long and the short of it is that I recommend people use an E3 visa lawyer if you are self-employed and looking to move to the USA on the E3. I had a number of consultations with a few different law firms after my rejection and found http://www.immigrationbureau.com/#!e-3-visas/c215n to be very reasonable in their pricing, very supportive and great to deal with.
James
Hi Geoff
Just a quick question. I got a job offer from a US company but they want to pay me as a 1099 contractor as they don’t want the hassle/cost of putting me on payroll every month. Can I work on an E3 visa with a 1099 arrangement?
I don’t think so Jay
Actually I think you can. If you have opened your own company and are sponsoring yourself (and your E3), just put the company name on the 1099 and then you pay yourself via your company.
Technically you prob can, but I know of people who’ve been knocked back because the folks at the Consulate didn’t think the business sponsoring/employing the person has the financial resources to pay them. Doing the shell LLC has a bunch of risks in this respect since:
1. It has no balance sheet
2. It has no customers other than that one client (who hasn’t started paying them anything yet)
3. It isn’t a “real” company with a website, office, etc, etc, etc….
Fair enough – but it works for everone I know. You would be signing a 1099 after you already had your E3 anyway…
Thanks guys. The company that has offered me the job is a legitimate company with a proper balance sheet, FEIN, etc. They just want me to do my own taxes, insurance,etc as it is a small firm.
Hi Jay – when you apply for the E3, you must be an employee of that company. I was in a similar situation; I’d worked for the company as a contractor on a 1099, but had to switch to an employee when I went for my E3.
It sounds like they just need some convincing – all they have to do is withhold taxes and have you give them a W-2. The company I became an employee was a small business also, and didn’t provide me with any insurance, 401k, etc when I got on the E3.
That’s a pretty common situation here Jay. It work’s great for you if you have your own company too as you can claim expenses etc to bring taxes down.
People being a 1099 is common – do you also mean E3 visa holders being a 1099 and not W2 (employee) is common too?
Yes, because you are employing yourself through your LLC. So taking on contract work via your LLC with the use of a 1099 seems to be common place for the people I know (also on E3s). If you are trying to get your E3 from a company who wants to offer you a 1099, then no, of course that won’t work. Get your own company, and your E3, then contract to whoever you want via 1099s.
Or – get a job and they will sponsor your E3 – pretty straight forward.
*works
Let us know how you go – I’d recommend the company getting the LCA and also giving you he letter of offer; they’re the main things the consulate needs
Hi Geoff,
Just a quick question. On your timeline/outline above you mention submitting your DS-160 before you’ve got your LCA approval. Some other bits and pieces I’ve read say you need the approval number from the LCA as part of the DS-160 application form. Was that your experience? Or can you omit that info and just provide it at the interview?
Your experience would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Jess
So while I am working my E3 Sponsored job, am I able to drive an Uber on the side to make some extra cash?
Geoff, can you give any insight into the renewal process. it seems different to the E2 renewal which auto renews on re entry for another 2 or 3 years. as best i can read the E3 requires an application to immigration in country (can take 3-5months for reply give the back load they have) and during such time soy can’t leave the US whilst visa change application is in place/progress. OR you travel outside the US and fully re apply with a letter saying MR a or MRs B is still wanted and employed by us and please renew her or his E3 etc. Thoughts?
Dave, you read it correctly. In country renewal is a nightmare and still requires you to leave the country to get a new visa. Best to do the renewal overseas, which for all intents and purposes is exactly like the process of applying for a new E-3.
Thanks, I have a follow up question, when the vis is issued, when does it actually start the 2 year period, at issue or when you first enter the US with that visa in your passport?
Dave, the date starts from the issue date of the LCA
Dear Geoff: what an excellent website you have created! I thank you for your time and dedication writing up the great article and your patience answering so many questions…..you are a real gentleman and the aussie community in USA owes you big thanks….
I have a quick question: I have already in california and am starting applying my e3 by registering my own llc (i have no intention of working for other ppl….). Since I have already been in the states, can i use my home address? I tried earthclassmail.com as you suggested in your article, but I found that the address I get from that service can be searched in google and if the ppl in US consulate are not idiots, they can clearly see that is a mail-forwarding service. So I wonder if it is better to just use my home address? But you can also find my home address in google and it shows it is a house, not office building…..what do you suggest geoff? Other fellow aussies having exprience using home address to apply for e3 please also let me know? Many thanks in advance!!!
Hi Geoff : I am already in USA with E3 visa. Can i form LLC on my wife name(She is on E3D with EAD) or it has to be on my own name?
Hi Geoff,
Thanks so much for sharing your information. It is simply priceless!
I’ve been talking to a few recruiters in the US and the work they have available with their clients are mostly contract jobs.
Is E3 only for permanent roles or is contract work ok as well (provided that the employer is willing to fill in the LCA)?
Thanks so much,
Alice
Hi Geoff
Thanks for this blog. It was recommended to me by Elias Bizannes.
My question is in regard to flipping up. You recommend getting good legal advice to avoid a potential large CGT event. Should that good advice come from an Australian or American lawyer? Or both? Wondering whether I should engage my lawyer back home or someone new here in the US.
Best
Dave
This post has been very helpful. I’ve got everything lined up, but I still have some questions in my mind about how to handle taxes and so on for the LLC once I’m earning income. I particularly want to protect my American co-members from any tax liability.
After you and Ivan set up your LLC how did you file your taxes? Did you have the LLC taxed as a single member LLC, Multi-member LLC or a Corporation? How did you file your individual taxes after working under the LLC for the first financial year?
Did you submit a W-2 to the IRS on your own behalf? Do they and USCIS interoperate in order to check that you’ve earned what you promised to earn on the LCA form and in your letter of employment?
As I’m incorporating in Delaware and I’m not a resident of the state I’m hoping i’m exempt from corporate tax, income tax and the like. Was this the case with your LLC?
Did you end up owing a chunk of payroll tax / income tax / anything?
Did you run into any trouble being a member of the LLC which hired you? Can the Department of Labor or USCIS see that you’re a member of the company which is petitioning to employ you?
Does this really work?
Thanks,
Germs
I am also extremely curious about this “Do they and USCIS interoperate in order to check that you’ve earned what you promised to earn on the LCA form and in your letter of employment?”. Have you found an answer at all?
I only know of people who have paid themselves (so there are entries on a bank account) and then loaned the money back to the business – they were fine but I’m not sure if they ever got challenged.
Remember that there are billions upon billions of dollars in taxes paid every year by illegal aliens so it really isn’t in the interest of the IRS to be some sort of enforcement agency for USCIS or share data with them at all – immigration is merely a political issue and the IRS is about the money.
A question about legality of this.
Being a single-member LLC, you cannot pay yourself a wage (W2) or any kind of salary. As far as I know your LLC income is your personal income of which you’ll pay taxes at the end of the year and you write it down as “passive income”.
Say you make 100k in profit and your E-3 states you are supposed to make at least 80k. You pay taxes and it’s all good. I feel like everything is clear here, though what would be your reasoning at the border when you’re asked:
– how many co-workers do you work with you at the company?
– show me your payslips (very unlikely they’ll ask that for E-3)
This scares the hell out of me. Do you guys have any ideas on how to deal with it ?
Hi M, I don’t have an answer in this respect (all my experience is via a C-Corp, we’ve got almost 20 US employees now). I do have a friend who’s got an LLC and he does pay himself a regular salary – I wasn’t aware (or haven’t seen before) the restriction of a single member LLC not being *allowed* to pay a W2 wage. I imagine many people choose not to pay themselves a W2 (since limits on tax deductiblity are a lot more friendly within the LLC than as a W2 employee), but this is the first I’ve heard about it being forbidden. Have you got a reference somewhere for that you can link to as I’m sure others would be really interested in it.
Hi Geoff,
Firstly congrats on the success of your company. Glad to hear you’re doing great!
I’ve found an example here – http://goo.gl/Vwm3gt … it says that IRS treats single-member LLC as proprietorship unless you elect it to be treated as a corporation (IRS – http://goo.gl/oTdo3J).
I was actually finally going to register myself to pay W2 but got stuck after I researched it a bit and found out that it might not be possible. I setup the LLC in Delaware and registered it as a foreign entity in California.
Do you know if your friend registered the LLC as a corporate entity for tax purposes?
I’m very curious to know if your friend registered the LLC as a corporate entity for tax purposes as well.
Ian,
It’s outlined here: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/LLC-Filing-as-a-Corporation-or-Partnership
Hi Geoff!
Thanks for posting this, it’s been a HUGE help in the process of getting my company and visa sorted in the US. I have everything in place now, I just need to choose a place to have it processed. Part of my business is based in Mexico (we make tequila!), so I was looking to get it done in Mexico City. Have you heard any updates on the ability to get the E3 processed in Mexico City and what the wait time to get your passport is like?
Cheers,
Jimmy
Or even if it can be processed in Guadalajara? That would be even better!
Hi Geoff,
Thanks so much for sharing this!
I was just wanting to know if it’s possible to flip up my company and hire myself if I do not have a degree?
Geoff
Thanks for great blog. I had a question re: concurrent employment.
1. Am I eligible to work for 2 employers if both sponsor E3?
2. How does 3 E3 visas work on passport during immigration?
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Hi Geoff,
If I am on an E3 working in US and want to change employers do I have to go back to Australia with my LCA or can I go to Canada or Bahamas?
Hoping to hear from you.
Thanks
J
Hi J,
Did you find out how to change employers on your E3?? I’m currently looking into the process and having issues finding information. What process did you follow??
Thanks,
Jo
It is exactly the same process as applying for a new E-3 visa. Geoff wrote this post about doing it in Vancouver https://geoffmcqueen.com/2015/07/11/e3-visa-renewal-in-vancouver/ and Sumi Sran did a post of Mexico City http://www.sumindersran.com/e3-visa-in-mexico-city-change-of-employer-apr-2015/.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for an awesome blog. Really cool!
Can you please see below my 2 statements and let me know whether I am in the right direction. I am on my first E-3 in USA. I have lost a job. I am about to sign a contract for another one and the company will soon start my LCA. Now I want to fill in DS-160 and take appointment.
1) Is this E-3 for this second company called as E3-R. Even though this is the first E-3 I am doing with this new company, this will be called as E-3 where R stands for renewal or reissue. Am I correct?
2) I don’t want to go to Australia for stamping. Even though this is the first E-3 I am doing with this new company, can I go to Canada/Bahamas?
If you can just advise on above, that will be helpful to me.
1) Yes. Any E-3 after your first one is an E3-R
2) There is no such thing as “renewal” as an E-3, the R always stands for Returning. Each E-3, even if not changing employees is almost like a new E-3 and processed in the same way.
3) You can go to Canada, Mexico, London, The Bahamas. Pretty much anywhere with a US consulate that will accept your appointment. Geoff did a great post about doing it up North in Canada https://geoffmcqueen.com/2015/07/11/e3-visa-renewal-in-vancouver/. Sumi Sran did a blog on Mexico City that is much more up to date than my blog http://www.sumindersran.com/e3-visa-in-mexico-city-change-of-employer-apr-2015/.
Brilliant Geoff. Thanks for making the time to post this.
One question…STEP 2- prevailing wage. Is that determined in the state where the LLC is formed (Delaware) or my physical address (they vary by 20k). The physical address is of my friend in UT as it’s the only fixed address I have, but I’ll actually be living in NM.
Cheers,
B
Where you’ll be living (or more accurately, working)
Hi Geoff, I am a spouse of an E3 visa holder. Therefore I am on an E3-D visa. Would you know if I can work on a W2 contract basis?
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Would you have to actually pay yourself these wages? Or could you list a job of say 36k a year and only earn 10k?
I ask because I intend to buy some land and homestead in America using my LLC for very limited work that would not actually generate the minimums.
You actually need to earn the income, in case you are checked. You need to show proof that you’ve been earning the minimum wage required for your visa, and, most importantly, paying the right amount of tax.
However, if you’re looking to pay yourself a wage that’s as low as possible, you can be employed part time (20 hours a week) and legally fulfill the requirements for an E3.
James
I have a friend who “paid” himself and then loaned the money back to the company. Kept burn low, but still meant paying taxes etc.
Hey Geoff, I am wanting to apply for an E3 visa.. I have already spoken with an immigration lawyer in Australia and want to go down this route as I am time poor. So the E3 application, I feel confident about.. But setting up an LLC in the USA for me is a little confusing. I have a fashion label in Australia and want to set up an LLC in Hawaii. I know I have to set up an LLC, have a 4 wall address and employee myself as a director… on a wage thats applicable to the standard wage of a similar job… .. but what would you suggest i do to set up an LLC? how do I start this process? thanks for any advice you can offer me? lisa
Hi Lisa, this is very similar to what I tried to do and it didn’t go so well for me. There are some crucial things you need to know about setting up the LLC yourself and “employing yourself” as a director if you don’t have other shareholders / directors. I wrote about my experience here. I’d recommend reading it just to avoid the same pitfall as me. http://jamesmorrell.com/e3-visa-self-sponsorship
Hi Geoff,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am in USA and seeking E3 visa. I found an employer (small company) who is interested to employ me. I should guide him to fill LCA form 9035. My question is about prevailing wage in section G of LCA. The level 2 is the level that match with the agreed payment. According to level explanation in FLC, level 2 is for qualified persons whereas the level 3 is for experinced people . I am experinced but the prevailing wage for level 3 is too high . Do you think it does mater to select level 2? Does LD really check my resume to see my experience in LCA process? If it does not matter then I can stick with level 2 and get the job.
I’d go for the Level 2 – unless your experience is insane (Chuck Yeager applying to be a flying instructor at a local flight school for example) or there’s something about your field that makes the tiers super obvious, you’ll probably be fine since the consular staff can’t possibly be an expert in what distinguishes someone from qualified vs experienced in every industry and every role.
Hi Geoff,
Are you aware of any E3 recruiters specialising in accounting and finance roles (even within IT organisations)? I am looking for finance related roles but have only come across IT roles/recruiters.
Thanks.
No unfortunately.
Hi Geoff, thank you so very much for the time and effort you put into this blog post. It is extremely helpful! 2 quick questions that I was hoping you could help me with: Does your employer have to fill out an I-129 form for the E-3 visa? Also, do you know what this means? “If the application is submitted electronically, any resulting certification must be signed immediately upon receipt from the Department of Labor before it can be submitted to USCIS for further processing.” Many thanks in advance!
No to the I-129 and I’m not familiar with the last statement.
Hi Geoff,
Thank you kindly for this detailed post on E3.
Would greatly appreciate if you could spare a time to advice on my following queries:
Am planning to register my LLC in Delaware and work in California.
1) Should I be required to pay taxes for both California and Delaware?
2) I noted in comments that some obtained E3 and engaged as 1099 contractor. So is it common/ok to work on different client’s site/location ?
Kind Regards
AD
This is an excellent one. I followed it step by step to get my e-3 visa without any hiccups. Thanks.
Now I encounter a problem, maybe an odd one or a common one. I applied for a few of positions and 3 of them turn out to be successful one by one in the end. I applied for my current e-3 visa on company A’s LCA. I am still in Sydney wandering around since Company A does not want me begin working very soon. A few days ago, the other two companies gave me offers, which are nearly double the money of what Company A offers and they already submitied LCAs. It is a good news, right? But it creates situations.
Of course, I want to take Company B’s job. The questions now are:
1. Can I apply for a new e-3 visa on the new LCA? (If the answer is yes, I guess the previous, unused e-3 visa becomes invalid).
2. Do you think I can just use the current visa and work for the company B? (I am not sure if telling the border officers that I am working for company B would be sufficient)
3. How do I turn down company A? Will it give me a bad reputation or effects?
I am pulling my hairs, not just scratching head. Anyone can help? Geoff?
Thanks,
Ian
Ian,
I’ve gone through a similar situation myself. To answer your questions:
1. Yes you would just apply for new E-3 on new LCA. When you give the embassy the passport to put the company B E-3 in there, they will simply stamp the company A E-3 as invalid. It’s a hot job market, the embassy staff probably see this sort of thing more than you think.
2. Absolutely not. Under no circumstance try to do this.
3. Put your big boy pants on, call them and explain the situation. If you do it professionally, no reason to think that it would impact your reputation.
Lee
Yes, I guessed there must be someone having the similar situation. Thanks Lee for your early reply. It makes me feel much better,…. until point 3.
So going through the same process again is surely the way to go.
“Do it professionally”, that is something to ask. I guess no matter how professionally you do, the “big boy pants” would still be the must. Well, I think I would start from sending them an email first (easier to handle).
Ian
Does anyone have an experience with terminating E-3 visas?
There are 2 steps:
#1 is to withdraw the LCA which is very simple and can be done online
#2 is to notify the Immigration Department that you have left the company, so they can terminate your visa.
I have found the #2 super tricky as there is not much information on the web. The company is supposed to send a letter to the Immigration Department stating whether you’ve been fired or quit but there are no specifics on what information to include (copy of passport, copy of visa, dates etc.). I wish there was a form that made it easier.
What I’m trying to avoid is getting a call from the Immigration Dept to the company’s business number. By the time that happens the company will no longer exist and I will be out of the country.
Has anyone done this?
Does it matter? The visa is no longer valid if the job no longer exists. Just make sure you document everything if it comes time to get a new visa.
Hey Geoff,
Does it matter if you have already worked for a month for the company before you get your E3 visa? And if the letter of employment says that you have already begun work, will this result in your visa being denied?
Any help is greatly appreciated
If you worked for the company in the US and you are in the US under VWP or other non working visa, then you are illegally working for the company. Absolutely yes your visa will be denied. If you are working for the from Australia or another country, then that would not be a problem.
Hey Geoff,
Quick question for you… Do have any idea how long it takes the Sydney office to get back to you with your E3 visa if at the interview they asked for some other information to be emailed to them? Basically, my LCA had the parent companies name on it and the letter offer had a different company name on it and so I was asked to submit a new LCA or matching company names. I submitted this the next day and now my visa has been in “administrative processing” for a month! They have my passport so I am stuck in Sydney and my boyfriend, my cat, my LIFE is in the US! So over this whole waiting thing…
I had the same issue. I waited patiently for a week. Afterward I called them every day until a literally forced them to process the visa over the phone. This way I managed to get it in 2 weeks but I had to move my initial flight. Good luck!!
Hey Geoff, do you have any experience with people being granted an E3 without a bachelors degree? I have an Advanced Diploma in Business/Marketing and am studying by correspondence a bachelors degree (12 units to go). I have roughly 9 years in of working in Marketing and CRM but was hoping to get an E3 without having to wait out the bachelors graduation. Thanks! Also your site is awesome and so informative, great work!
Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with that, but I have heard that 10 years in industry is equivalent to a degree. I’ve also heard that if you’ve done half a bachelors degree you only need 5 years in industry to make up the equivalence. Based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you’d have a pretty good case to make as you’re at the 9 year mark and your advanced diploma should count for enough to push you over the 10 year mark. The trick though is that a consular official is making this decision on the spot without much time or ability to research, so having a job offer from a good/great company and being confident with your skills (have you ever won any awards or worked on something famous/sexy/impressive) will be critical. I know of folks who’ve also taken the time (and it is recommended) to ask their professors or deans to write a letter saying you’ve got equivalent skills (or better) to a bachelors graduate – this shouldn’t be too hard for you given your studying currently.
Good luck!
I am in a similar situation as you, Lauren. I have been in the US now on an E3 with different employers for 9+ years. I have partially completed a degree in Australia, but had decent work experience when I came here. One thing that can definitely help is a trustforte evaluation of either your experience, degree (or part thereof) or both of those. They essentially review all your history and study make a detailed statement to the effect that it is equivalent to a 4 year degree. One of my employers actually got one for me when it was time to “renew” in Canada, and it has made everything much simpler. Not sure how much they cost though, but it’s worth a look! Here’s a link to their site: http://www.trustfortecorp.com/exp_evaluations.html Hope it all works out for you!
Hi Lauren,
I don’t have a BA, but because I owned an ran my electrical contracting business for 15 years, that was good enough. I did pay a company to evaluate my qualifications,
My friend didn’t really care if he got the visa or not so he didn’t get his credentials evaluated. He had a business doing cycle and kayak tours so he just showed the consulate the brochures and ads he’d created and that was enough to get an E3 for a marketing position.
Hi Geoff, I have a bachelor of Arts degree (political science major) from Australia and I’m looking to find a copywriting job in the US and then transfer to the E3. I am looking at going to Portfolio school in Chicago next year to do a copywriting course because I have no experience in that field. If I was to get a job offer by the end of this course, would I qualify for the E3 do you think?