Houston Guide to Investment Visa E3
The E3 visa is an occupation visa that was introduced in 2005 as part of the trade deal negotiations between the United States government and that of Australia. It means that it is only Australian citizens who are eligible for this visa. It is quite easy to confuse the E3 visa with the H-1B visa since they are similar in so many ways. This Houston guide on investment visa E3 by RunRex serves to give more insight on what it is and the requirements needed to get the visa.
Eligibility criteria for obtaining the E3 visa
The E3 visa is a treaty visa and with it comes rather strict eligibility requirements. The eligibility requirements include:
You must be a citizen of Australia
This permit was established solely because of the trade talks between Australia and the United States. As you would expect, only the citizens of Australia are the ones able to apply for this type of visa.
You must possess the required academic credentials
The visa is only for people who will be working in the United States in a specialty occupation. The occupation should require the application of practical and practical knowledge in that professional field. As such, the minimum academic requirement that the applicant has to attain a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent of the same academically.
The applicant must have a legitimate employment offer in the United States
You will need to have an employment offer for a job in the United States that requires the application of the skills and knowledge that you have. You have to have the official employment offer letter to provide proof of the same.
Documents required to support your application
When applying for this type of visa, ensure that your Form I-129 includes:
• A Labor Condition Application – There is no Labor Condition Application uniquely set out for the E3 visa. Therefore, an applicant is required to use the standard ETA-9035 for application and request that it be indicated as an E3 LCA.
• Your academic credentials – you will need to provide evidence to support the fact that you have attained the required minimum educational qualification requirements. It means that you need to have an original copy of your Bachelor’s degree certificate.
• A Job offer – You will, also, need to attach a copy of the official employment offer letter. The letter should have the name of the company, a date, and their physical address. The position you are going to take in the company, your duties and the responsibilities you will assume, your salary or compensation, the date you are to commence work and a signature of one of the employees of the company some of the other information you should provide.
• Licenses – Before you practice your profession in the specialty occupation you are to assume in the United States, you need to be legally able to practice. It means that you first have to get the necessary license and other essential legal requirements first. These have to be included in your visa application too.
Applying for the visa
When applying from within the United States, you will use Form 1-129 to apply for a change of status to obtain the new classification of nonimmigrant temporary worker. If you are applying from Australia via a consulate or with the United States Embassy, you will be required to file Form I-129 first. Upon the form being approved, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will forward to your employer Form I -797 which is a Notice of Action/Approval form and your employer will send it to you.
The visa has a lifeline of 2 years initial stay period. Upon the expiry of the period, one can file for an extension. An extension usually is for a maximum of two years. There is no limit set for the number of times a person can file for an extension. As long as the initial requirements are met, one can always file for an extension.
Other E3 visa terms
In the event that you get another job with another employer while in the United States, your new employer will be required to obtain a Labor Condition Application for the new employment and an application for a new E3 visa. The transition period between the two jobs has to be a maximum of 10 days. Form I-129 comes in handy when changing your employment.
Family of the visa holder
If you are a holder of the E3 visa and you have a spouse and kids, then they too fall under the same E3 visa classification. Your children, however, have to be unmarried and under the age of 21. While your children will not be granted authorization to work, your spouse would. If they want to apply for work, your spouse needs to file a Form I-765 which is an Application for Employment Authorization.
Just like filing any other type of visa, it is best for one to work with an immigration attorney to help them organize the documents correctly and navigate through the process quickly. A tiny mistake could cost one a lot of time.