E3 Visa - Triumph and Tribulations

To be honest, it was mainly triumph. Not really any tribulations apart from the amount of time it actually took to secure a job.

I'm not going to take you through the numerous phone calls and emails it took to finally get a job lined up, but the process from the time of actually getting a job transfer approved to entering the USA with a Visa.

And it was very straight forward with minimal hassle.

Once the job was approved, my company engaged their usual immigration law firm (yes, its a big company listed on NYSE). This process started on 11th May. The law firm sent out a long questionnaire which asked me lots of questions. Probably the most difficult were about employment history (last 5 jobs, start/finish dates and responsibilities) and previous USA travel history (Entry / Exit dates, purpose and locations). But was able to get the employment information from my CV which was up to date and my old & current passport which were easily accessible.

Initially, the plan was to go via a H-1B visa which is their standard process, but it turns out that the limit of H1-B visas had already been exceeded for the first half of the year and no new ones would be issued till October 2011. However, thankfully, being an Australian, there is a special treaty class called the E-3 visa.

To give the laymans understanding of the E-3 visa, its basically only available for Australian's who work in specific occupations where the US have a "shortage" of those skills. All the occupations and visa holders need to have at least a graduate level education and the role they take up must be in the field of that study.

The two major benefits of the E-3 visa that I can list are:
1 - The number of E-3 visas have apparently never exceed their annual limit, thus no delays in issuing
2 - The E-3 visa applicant apparently doesn't need a Homeland security check. The H-1B visa holder does. Apparently, the American's love Aussies. I don't blame them.

So now, back to the process. Once I had given my information to the law firm, they prepared an Labor Condition Application (LCA) and submitted to the Department of Labor. This was on 18 May and the Dept of Labor approved on 24th May. So less than 1 week. I was pretty happy about that. If you are wondering what the LCA is, basically, its a form the employer lodges to confirm they are not trying to hire cheap foreign labour and bringing them to the USA.

As a side note, if you ever want someone to help improve your resume, get a lawyer. The submission to the DOL made me sound like a genius on the move. And although everything they included was factual, I would never have written my CV that way. Suffice to say, my CV has been updated again!!!

So once the LCA was approved, the lawyers couriered the relevant paperwork to me in Australia and I then had to go to the US consulate website, fill out a DS160 form (very similar questions to that which the law firm asked about), pay a $390 "application" fee, (which is apparently in addition to the visa fee the employer paid) book an appointment at the consulate and gather lots and lots of documents about my education, employment history and financial viability.

Regarding the appointment, the state dept website advising timeframes was fairly accurate. It told me 9 days and sure enough, once i got through the website process of setting up an interview, the first available slot was at 8.15am, 9 business days later.

So in that 9 days, I double checked, triple checked, and quadruple checked that I had all the documents I thought I would need. I had my passport, my Visa Appointment confirmation page, my LCA, my DS160 confirmation, my interview confirmation, my signed job offer, bank account summary (to show financial viability for period until pay cheques would flow), University transcript plus degree, Chartered Accountant membership certificate plus grad diploma transcript and certificate. All the correspondence with the law firm to obtain the LCA, and my birth certificate just in case. So when it came time for the visa interview, I was very prepared.

During all the above process, I got a little impatient and booked my one way flights to Washington DC. I know I should have waited till a visa was in hand, but oh well. I booked a flexible ticket (only $500 more than the non-flexible) and used my accrued miles to upgrade to business class. That upgrade saved me $200 in excess baggage charges, so effectively, a business class ticket for only $300 more than economy. Bargain!

Anyway, interview day. I was nervous to say the least. Basically an 18 month process could all come to nothing if the interviewer doesn't like me. So will give a run down on the morning's process.

I got to the consulate at 7.45 for an 8.15 appointment. Consulate opens at 7.45 and there were already about 30 people ahead of me. Go through a security checkpoint, hand over mobile phones and hop in another line for a pre-pre-interview. The pre-pre-interview is a process on the ground floor where they ask what type of visa application is being made, and ensure that you have all the compulsory documents that will be needed to actually process anything. For me, this was my passport, LCA, DS160 Confirmation page, Receipt for the $390 fee and an Australia Post Platinum mail satchel so they can mail your passport and visa back to you via registered post. These were all ready for the pre-pre interview.

Strangely enough, despite the interview confirmation page being very clear that these documents are necessary, there were a couple of people before me who obviously didn't read the simple brief instructions. They were sent away from the pre-pre interview presumably returning later in the day.

Anyway, after the pre-pre interview, we were guided to a nearby seat where once about 5 people were ready, and an elevator was available, we were escorted up to the consulate which is on about level 50 of the building. We go inside, get a number, then hop in another line? (didnt understand the need for a number as well as the line). Anyway, their systems crashed for about 15 minutes so they told everyone to sit down and they would just call the numbers anyway.

about 20 minutes later, once the systems are up and running again, my number is called and I head to the pre-interview window. This pre-interview is simply so they can collect my documents and put my name into the system and queue for the visa interview. Once again, back to my seat to wait for my number to be caled again.

Very nervous by this stage. Last stop before success or failure in the whole process.

I checked that I had all my supporting documents (again). Then my number was called and up I go.

Turns out, I had nothing to be worried about. About 5 questions such as:
What is my highest education (Grad diploma);
Am I a chartered accountant (Yep)
What will I be doing in my new job (Accounting and contract analysis stuff)
How did I find out about the job (internal job transfer)
How long have I been with my employer (about 3.5 years)

Thank you very much, your application is approved.

What the hell??? What about all my supporting documents. All that stress and preparation! Nothing. Nada. No Need. But I'm smart enough to know not to say the above. I said thank you very much, how long before i should get them, and have a nice day.

In at 7.45am and out by 9am. Very easy.

So with the interview being conducted on 15th June, and the Visa (and passport) in my hand by the 17th June, the entire process from engaging the law firm to success was about 36 days. and 6 of that was me not finishing the DS160 in one go.

Anyway, hopefully the above helps someone in the future as a basic understanding of the process in getting an E-3 visa. That was all done out of Sydney by me (and USA by the law firm).

This post was kinda boring. But was to be more informational than entertainment. Will try and do better next time.