E-3 visa: Difference between revisions

The E-3 visa is similar in many respects to the [[H-1B visa]]. 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 status|TN visa]] issued to [[Canada|Canadian]] and [[Mexico|Mexican]] citizens), even if they are of a different nationality;<ref>{{cite web|title=PART 41—VISAS: DOCUMENTATION OF NONIMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED § 41.51 Treaty trader, treaty investor, or treaty alien in a specialty occupation - (c) Nonimmigrant E–3 treaty aliens in specialty occupations|url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=b5a2eb4d23abf54fbe73d5b74b974fed&rgn=div5&view=text&node=22:1.0.1.5.27&idno=22#22:1.0.1.5.27.6.1.1|work=Title 22: Foreign Relations|publisher=Electronic Code of Federal Regulations|accessdate=2011-10-22|quote=(2) Spouse and children of treaty alien in a specialty occupation. The spouse and children of a treaty alien in a specialty occupation accompanying or following to join the principal alien are, if otherwise admissible, entitled to the same classification as the principal alien. A spouse or child of a principal E–3 treaty alien need not have the same nationality as the principal in order to be classifiable under the provisions of INA 101(a)(15)(E). Spouses and children of E–3 principals are not subject to the numerical limitations of INA 214(g)(11)(B).|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605081018/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=b51aed9300f7aa8f4f5dadc9bd12e183&rgn=div5&view=text&node=22:1.0.1.5.27&idno=22#22:1.0.1.5.27.6.1.1|archivedate=2011-06-05|df=}}</ref> 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. (One calculation is that the E-3 guarantees Australians 15% of the combined annual total of US visas for persons in specialty occupations, should they want such visas, even though with a population of approximately 23.4 million Australia accounts for only 0.3% of the world’s non-US population.)<ref>"Frequently-Asked Questions Regarding the 'Australians-Only' E-2 Visa," http://www.usvisalawyers.co.uk/article12.htm</ref> Visas issued to spouses and children are not included in the E3 quota and spouses and children do not need to be Australian citizens.