E3 Visa: Australian Specialty Occupation Professional

What is an E3 Visa?

An E3 Visa is for Australian professionals who wish to enter the US and take a specialty job in their profession. Known as the Australian Specialty Occupation Professional, the E3 Visa is only available to Australians who have a degree or equivalent levels of skills so that they are able to work in the US.

The E3 Visa is issued for a period of two years and after that, the holder is able to apply for a further two-year extension. There is a maximum of 10,500 E3 Visas issued each year, so it Is not necessarily easy to get one, even if you meet the requirements.

Requirements & Information for an E3 Visa

There are a number of requirements that must be met in order for an E3 Visa to be issued. These are:

• You are an Australian citizen
• You have a job offer in the US and evidence of this
• The role is considered to be a specialty occupation
• The relevant academic qualifications have been attained
• Your stay in the US is only temporary

How to apply for an E3 Visa?

To apply for an E3 Visa, you must have the following documents to enable your application to get processed:

• A valid passport
• A letter from your employer containing the formal job offer
• A copy of the LCA (Labor Condition Application)
• Copy of your qualifications/degree

The employer must have a LCA in order for them to be able to employ foreign nationals, so they will need to apply for this from the US Department of Labor before offering a job. Once this LCA certification been obtained, they can offer the job to the successful applicant.

Once you have all of these documents then the next step is to complete the online DS-160 form, which is the non-immigrant visa application. Once the form has been completed, the applicant must take a print out of the confirmation. An application fee payment must be made to process the E3 Visa application, which currently costs $205, applicants should also keep a copy of the receipt of that payment. The next step is to make arrangements for an interview at the US Embassy. If applying from Australia, there is a US Embassy at Canberra and Consulates in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Is there a visa for E3 spouse and dependents?

If your E3 visa is issued then you are able to apply for an E3 visa for spouse and unmarried children aged under 21 years old to join you in the US. The E3D visa enables children to study in the US and for spouses to get employment in the US by obtaining an Employment Authorization Document. This can be done by completing the I-765 Form.

How long does it take for an E3 Visa to be processed?

The length of time it takes for an E3 Visa to get processed will depend on how busy the US Embassy is but generally takes around two months.