Hacker News Reader

Comment by zensavona | Hacker News Reader

I (Australian) had never heard of the E3 visa until just now - Interesting that it defines "Speciality work" as anything that requires a degree in the job description.

I don't have one, but have been working professionally in this field for 4 years (I'm 22), and thus would not be eligible. To qualify for experience in lieu of a degree you require 3 years of work for each one year of university, so when I've been working for 12 years I could do that.

Interesting regulation, in Australia we have a "skilled occupations list" [0] which is a list of skilled work which specifically is in demand in Australia

[0] http://www.visabureau.com/australia/skilled-occupation-list....

View on HN

If you're Australian, and assuming you have a relevant bachelor's degree, the E3 visa is trivial to get, and to maintain.

It has basically zero cost or effort for the employer: just need to get a Bureau of Labor statement that the offered salary is above market rates for role and location.

It sucks a little for the holder: you've got 10 days to leave the country if your employment ends, and you need to demonstrate every two years that you don't want to remain in the US permanently (yup, that's proving a negative). The renewals seem like they're pretty automatic, but the criteria aren't public and if the decision goes against you, you've again got 10 days to get out.

You don't need a lawyer to get an E3, but once you've got enough cash flow, it might be worth it for renewals and the potential for an appeal if your renewal (technically a new visa issue) is rejected.

> I don't have one, but have been working professionally in this field for 4 years (I'm 22), and thus would not be eligible.

My understanding is that the quoted figures are indicative only and not backed by black-letter regulation. Of course, consult a lawyer. Or have a potential employer pay for you to consult a lawyer.

I obtained an E3 without a degree via the relevant experience path.

Somewhere filed away I have a letter from an organization accredited by the US government proclaiming that I have degree-level experience. I value it almost as much as the certificate I obtained in/for Canada confirming I have conversational level English skills.

Can you share the name of the organization where you got the accreditation please?

I can't remember (and the doc is filed away in the basement somewhere)... It was all handled by the immigration lawyers of my employer.

The E3 has basically the same requirements as the H1B (regular work visa), the main difference is that there is no cap (whereas H1Bs are capped and it's basically a lottery whether you get one or not).

IIRC there is some way to avoid the degree requirement if you have a skilled job and an equivalent # of years work experience.

Technically E3 has a cap, but since only Australians can apply for it (as opposed to the whole world applying for H1-Bs) the cap has never been reached.

Yeah, the quota is 10k of which about 3-4k a year is used. Extensions don't count against the quota and are renewable indefinitely.

Drawback is: non-permanent visa (so banks won't lend to you) & you can't have intent to stay (can't apply for greencard).

I got a mortgage on H1-B so I don't think non-permanency is necessarily a problem. I also know several people who have gone from E3 to green card: http://www.limaechoecho.com/2012/11/e-3-visa-to-green-card.h...

E-3 to green card is OK if you put in your application from outside the US.

H-1B is dual-intent (i.e. not non-permanent) & better known to banks (3k vs. 120k granted per year).

Not true. I got a GC while being on an E-3 in the US.

Better hope DHS doesn't find out

I really doubt it matters. F1 student visa isn't dual intent either, but a lot of foreign students end up marrying US citizens and adjusting to green cards in the US.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com