E-3 visa
Encyclopedia
The E-3 visa is a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 visa for which only citizens of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 are eligible. It was created by an Act of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 as a result of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement
Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Australia – United States Free Trade Agreement is a preferential trade agreement between Australia and the United States modelled on the North American Free Trade Agreement . The free trade agreement was signed on 18 May 2004, ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives on 14 July 2004 by a...

 (AUSFTA), although it is not formally a part of the AUSFTA. The legislation creating the E-3 visa was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 on May 11, 2005.

Description

The E-3 visa is similar in many respects to the H-1B visa
H-1B visa
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101. It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations...

. Important differences include the fact that spouses of E-3 visa holders may work in the United States without restrictions (unlike other US non-immigrant visas, even the TN visa issued to Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 citizens), even if they are of a different nationality, that the E-3 visa is renewable indefinitely (in two-year increments) and that the application process is much quicker. Australian citizens applying for an E-3 visa are also no longer subject to the 65,000 annual visa limit for H-1B visas; although there is a separate annual quota of 10,500 E-3 visas, this is believed to be much more generous to Australians than requiring them to compete with all other nations for H-1B visas. Visas issued to spouses and children are not included in the E3 quota and spouses and children do not need to be Australian citizens.

Although INA § 101(a)(15)(E) requires that all E nonimmigrants maintain an intention to depart the United States upon expiration of their authorized E stay, the guidelines issued by the USCIS state that applications for E classification, including extensions or change of status, cannot be denied solely on the basis of an approved permanent labor certification
Labor certification
Labor certification is a United States of America immigration concept. There are several options available to US employers who wish to hire foreign, non-immigrant workers on a temporary but long-term basis: H-1B visas, L-1 visas, TN status and other options. These temporary options are often...

 or pending or approved immigrant visa petition. Therefore, immigrant intent should not be a bar to eligibility for E-3 classification.

The regulations for applying for an E-3 visa were published in the United States Federal Register on September 2, 2005. Following these procedures will allow an Australian citizen to apply for an E-3 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

Similar to an H-1B visa
H-1B visa
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101. It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations...

, the prospective employer of the E-3 visa holder will first apply for a "Labor Condition Application" (LCA) with the U.S. Department of Labor, with a note at the top of the form indicating it is for an E-3 visa for an Australian citizen. After the LCA is approved, the Australian citizen will then apply for the actual visa at a U.S. consulate and then enter the U.S. Australians who are already in the United States on another type of temporary/non-immigrant visa may also apply to change their status to an E-3 visa. Change of visa status is not possible if the applicant has entered the country under the visa waiver program, however, if the applicant has entered on a different visa (F-1 student) then a change of status is allowed.

Statistics

Since the introduction of the E-3 visas, between 2000-3000 E3 visas have been issued by US consulates to Australian professionals every year; in addition to this, E3R visas are issued to the returning Australian professionals whose original visas had expired. The numbers are as follows: four new visa in Fiscal Year 2005; 1,918 new visas in FY 2006; 2,572 new and 6 returning in FY 2007; 2,961 new and 1,568 returning in FY 2008; and 2,191 new and 1,421 returning in FY 2009. In addition to this, 1,000 to 1,500 E3D visas are issued annually to these professionals' dependents. (Each US fiscal year starts and ends 3 months before the calendar year with the same number).

In U.S. Fiscal Year 2006 (October 2005 through September 2006), which was the first full year during which E-3 regulations were in effect, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recorded 2,123 admissions of Australian citizens as E-3 status foreign workers under the treaty. 9,294 admissions were recorded in U.S. Fiscal Year 2007 (October 2006 through September 2007).

Importantly, the number of admissions in a given fiscal year is different to the number of visas issued: an E-3 visa is a multiple-entry visa valid for 24 months, and every reentry of the visa holder into the USA (other than after short trips to the "near abroad", i.e. Canada or Mexico) during this time will generate a new admission record.

Reciprocality

The Australian subclass 457 long stay business visa
457 visa
The 457 visa is the most commonly used program for Australian or overseas employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers to work in Australia temporarily...

provides similar working rights in Australia for U.S. citizens. However this visa is available to any nationality and hence no special work permit for U.S. citizens has been introduced in Australia.

Alberta Provincial Nominee Program for Permanent Residence in Canada

Up to 23 August 2010, it had been possible to use one year of residence in the United States as a holder of an E-3 visa (or certain other work visas, such as H-1B), while employed in an eligible occupation, to obtain provincial nomination from Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

for permanent residence in Canada. This was withdrawn due to Alberta being limited to a maximum of 5,000 nominations of any type, at all, under Canada's provincial nominee program.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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