E3 Visa 2013 Common Questions Answered

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The E-3 visa while only allowing a maximum of 10,500 visas annually and even that quota only is barely half reached each year continues to be one of the most sort after materials on this site. Today the E-3 visa is only available to Australian citizens, although their spouses on the E-3D visa can be of another nationality. However there is a strong push for E-3 type visas for both Irish Citizens and South Korean Citizens.

For E-3 Visa 2011 and E-3 Visa 2012 we did a Frequent Asked Questions post comprising the most common questions we had been asked over the past few months in the comments section. In most cases the answers already existed in other articles on the site which we have referenced below. However we found that a brief common questions article annually is well received by our readers.

1. How long can I remain in the US after my E-3 visa expires?

If your E-3 visa has an expiry date of June 1, then you can remain in the country for 10 further days and should leave by June 11. In actual terms it is the date on your white I-94 card that is your true final date for leaving the country and this maybe greater than 10 days because you may have renewed your E-3 visa within the US. In practical terms most people who do leave after this period but within about 120 days and experience no issue with new visas and reentry to the YS, however technically this is a violation of your entry to US terms.

2. Can I do an Internship on the E-3 Visa?

Technically you could do an Internship role on the E-3 visa if it paid a proper salary that met the prevailing wage requirements. However in practical terms the E-3 visa is for professional workers in specialty occupations with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience. The J-1 visa is the designated visa type for internship and trainee type opportunities and has a more suitable set of criteria for Intern candidates.

3. Should I apply for the E-3 Visa of H-1B Visa?

Below we did an article with a link comparing the differences between the H-1B visa and the E-3 visa. There is many reasons why would choose one over the other based on current US Immigration regulations. The H-1B visa spousal visa, the H-4 visa does NOT allow them to work whereas the E-3D spousal visa does. The H-1B visa is explicitly a dual intent visa allowing for your employer to sponsor your Green Card under common types like EB-2 and EB-3. The E-3 visa does not forbid this but does not explicitly allow this either although few people have recorded issues doing this. The H-1B visa has a strict quota, high filing fees, is open to world, only allows work commencement from October 1 of that year and a set application time that is already closed in 2013 and wont reopen till April 2014. The E-3 visa can be applied for at any time, has a quota that has never been reached and has no filing application fees. The H-1B visa is for 3 years and is renewable once and the E-3 visa is for 2 years but renewable indefinitely. Finally the H-1B allows for much easier transition between employers with the portability provision whereas the E-3 visa is far more lengthy and practically speaking is often better to leave the US and get a whole new E-3 visa for new employer. Ultimately given all this it depends on what you need in your specific case to see what works best.

4. How does the proposed US Immigration Reform in 2013 effect the E-3 Visa?

There is no real change for current E-3 visa for Australians in terms of the visa itself. There is potential side benefit on the Green Card side as documented here, however that does not change the lack of dual intent condition for the E-3 Visa application and the grey area with Permanent Residency. However within the proposed Immigration reform there is proposed new quotas for E-3 visa for Irish and South Korean Citizens.

 

Our E3 Visa Resources:

– E3 Visa General Information
– Getting a job on the E3 Visa
– Explaining the E3 Visa to an employer
– Going to a Green Card from the E3 Visa
– How much does the E3 Visa application cost?
– E3 Visa US Consulate Interview
– Transfer to an E3 Visa from another US Visa
– E3D Visa – spouse and dependent visa for the E3 Visa
– Step by Step Guide to your E3 Visa
– Social Security & Healthcare while on the E3 Visa
– Extending, Renewing or Changing Employers on the E3 Visa
– E3 Visa Renewal without US Consulate Interview
– How Does the E3 Visa Differ from the H1B visa
– E3 Visa Job Information
– E3 Visa Employer Database (exclusive)
– E3 Visa Bachelors Degree and Specialty Occupation conditions explained
– E3 Visa Demonstrate Residence Abroad condition explained
– E3 Visa concepts explained in easy to understand language
– Do I need a lawyer for the E3 Visa process?
– Laid off on the E3 Visa

H-1B Visa 2013 Summary

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While technically we haven’t reached the end of the H-1B visa season for FY-2014 it is essentially over as this year in the first week of April 2013, the USCIS announced it had received 124,000 H-1B applications and that it would no longer accept anymore.

The H-1B visa lottery was instituted for the first time since 2008 to allocate the visa given the 65,000 regular cap and 20,000 advanced degree exemption extra quota. Premium processing began on April 15 for those applications that paid the extra $1,225 filing fee to have their applications processed within 2 weeks from commencement. Those that missed out during the lottery had their applications and fees returned and over the last few weeks those that were selected in the lottery were notified, although their actual petitions still need to be processed meaning there is still a small chance of rejection.

Below is a summary of this year compared to past year’s H-1B visa seasons. As you can see since the bad economic years of FY-2011  (during 2010) and FY-2010 (during 2009), the caps have been filling ever more quickly from January the following year to November, then June for last year’s season and now back to right away in April as we had in 2008 with oversubscription. Let’s hope things improve via US Immigration reform because no doubt the same thing will happen next year.

Cap Type FY2014 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 4/5/2013
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 4/5/2013
Cap Type FY2013 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 6/11/2012
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 6/7/2012
Cap Type FY2012 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 11/22/2011
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 10/21/2011
Cap Type FY2011 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 1/26/2011
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 12/31/2010
Cap Type FY2010 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 12/21/2009
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 12/21/2009
Cap Type FY2009 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 4/7/2008
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 4/7/2008
Cap Type FY2008 Cap Amount Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 4/3/2007
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 4/4/2007

Hopefully all of you that applied got lucky and possibly for H-1B Visa season in 2014 (FY-2015), new US Immigration reform which proposes increasing the cap to 124,000 for H-1B annually initially with further increases in subsequent years based on demand. Additionally the Green Card petitions that are currently in the system and new ones for particularly STEM graduates from US Universities may also increase along with the potential of the Startup visa.

Cj