What the E3 visa would mean for Irish - Explaining what the visa currently before Congress would involve
By: Debbie McGoldrick | Published Friday, December 21, 2012, 5:38 PM | Updated Friday, December 21, 2012, 5:38 PM
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| Senator Scott Brown in discussion with Eamon Gilmore |
Readers of the Irish Voice will undoubtedly be aware that the possibility looms of the Irish getting their own version of the Australian E-3 visa program, hopefully at some point this year.
Two Irish E-3 bills were introduced in the Senate late last year, one by Senator Charles Schumer of New York and one by Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. An amalgamated version of the bills is awaiting final action in the Senate, and Irish sources are cautiously optimistic of success.
The term E-3 has been bandied about a lot these days, but what exactly is an Australian E-3 visa, and how does it work?
It’s a question that this column has been asked on more than one occasion, so here we’ll give the basics about the initiative that was tailor made for the Australians back in 2005. Keep in mind that any E-3 program for the Irish could be somewhat different to what’s described here.
The Australian E-3 has been in existence since 2005, when Congress authorized – and President George W. Bush approved – 10,500 annual non-immigrant work visas specifically for natives of Australia.
Those eligible to apply for an E-3 visa must first have a job offer from an American employer, and the position must be considered a “specialty occupation,” – i.e., one in which a bachelor’s degree would be required as a minimum.
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The possibility also exists for those without college degrees to apply for an E-3 visa. However, they would have to have a wide body of experience – three years of work experience is generally accepted as the equivalent of a single year of college, so 12 years of work experience could, if the circumstances are right, equate to a four year bachelor degree.
The E-3 visa has particular advantages over the H-1B visa, which is used by citizens from other parts of the world who have U.S. job offers in specialty occupations.
The application process for the E-3 is less cumbersome and quicker than the H-1B because the employer is not required to file a visa petition, and only has to obtain an approved Labor Condition
Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor.
Spouses of E-3 visa holders also have the right to employment in the U.S., a benefit not given to H-1B spouses. The E-3 spouse must apply for an employment authorization document with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) after arrival here.
The approved document allows the spouse not only the right to work in the U.S., but the job may be in a position other than a specialty occupation. The job can also be either full-time or part-time.
The spouse of an E-3 visa holder does not have to be a native of Australia to fully partake of the program’s benefits. Children are also eligible to come to the U.S. on the E-3 visa program, but they cannot obtain work authorization.
Best of all, the E-3 visa, initially granted for two years, is renewable for an indefinite amount of time. H-1B visas are issued for one three year period, with only one three year renewal possible.
The E-3 visa is employer-specific – in other words, the holder can only work for whoever acted as visa sponsor. If another job offer comes up, the new employer must obtain another LCA, and a new E-3 application would have to be filed.
E-3 visa holders are free to travel abroad as they wish for business, vacations, etc., as long as they are still employed and are maintaining a primary base in the U.S.
Though there are 10,500 E-3 visas available to qualified Australians each year, thousands go unfilled.
The Australian economy is stronger than the Irish one so the need for emigration isn’t as great. For fiscal year 2010, only 2,175 E-3s were issued; the number was 2,191 the previous year, and 2,961 in 2008.
So basically, more than 7,500 E-3s are untaken each year. If an E-3 Irish visa comes to pass, it’s a sure bet that the quota will be used.
7 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.irishcoffeekid | Apr 09, 2012, 11:31 AM EDT
I think the most important part that governments on both sides are neglecting to highlight is the employment requirement. You cannot come to the USA on this WITHOUT a job offer from a US firm and there are so many graduates in the USA already with these skills, companies MUST show that they have exhausted efforts to hire local qualified people for the job before they can go abroad so if Irish people think this is a quick ticket to getting into the USA without a Green Card or H1B or J1 visa, forget it - you can't come to the USA without a formal offer letter from a USA firm - its a joke that they are not highlighting this because its misleading a lot of people!
Actually*Irish* | Feb 22, 2012, 02:13 AM EST
No like2tweet, unfortunalty it is you that is dead wrong. I am an Irish person living in the states & am only about 6 months away from a green card after moving over here in 03. If this bill gets passed so does the HR 3012 that this E-3 was tagged on to. It takes green card visa allocations away from the rest of the world and reallocates them to China & India & the effect will be for Irish people like me (and everyone from all other than countries other than India & China) that our green cards are delayed by YEARS. It will cost me thousands & thousand of dollarsin immigration fees to maintain my status here while waiting on the green card that if this bill doesn't pass I will have by the end of the summer at no additional cost. Even the E-3 part of this bill along is HORRIBLE, it all a big ploy to get American voters of Irish decent to vote for the sponser of the bill. It provides NO path to green card or citizenship for any of the Irish people comiong over on it, gives no rights to these immigrants. If Irish people move over here on this & they have kids there kids will become illegal immigrants on their 21 birthdays if they still remain in the states as at that age their derevitative status from the parents end. Will lead to broken families. So in conclusion, horrible to Irish people already here because of HR 3012 it is allached too & horrible bill for any prospective Irish immigrants as there are no long term right. My advice? Try Australi or New Zeland or Canada, there immigration systems are way better.
like2tweet | Feb 21, 2012, 08:38 PM EST
Mamba etc you are all dead wrong, the Irish have little or no access to green cards anyway, less than one fifth of one per cent of green cards went to irish last year because of the 1965 act --
Bill Canukian | Feb 21, 2012, 06:48 PM EST
The Irish E3 is currently bundled with legislation that would remove country caps from immigrants from India to the detriment of immigrants from every other country of the world including Ireland. This will benefit some to the detriment of others. Please unhook this bill from country cap removal. You don't want to get your visas on the backs of other immigrants. This will create serious ill will within the immigrant community.
darrenokeffee | Feb 21, 2012, 06:35 PM EST
will it make it easy or harder to get into the states who knows cause i've been trying for last 9 months to get a sponser last time i looked at employment website that effects me [printing trade] there were close to 500 jobs that i could be qualifed to do and the jobs just keep coming up even had 1 guy ask me to come over to start work [not kosher]and we'd take it from there yeah right i've over 20 yrs exp with a family what am i supposed to do jump ship on a whim and because i won't do it illegally [ask my brother what happens there] i'm stuck waiting? for an employer to take a punt the guy who asked me to come over still has'nt filled the position 8 months later
Mamba11 | Feb 21, 2012, 03:00 PM EST
If this becomes a law, Irish will never be able to get a Green Card in the U.S. because this new law will also remove per-country quotas giving as many as 80% of all visas to Indians and Chinese. The waiting time for a Green Card will be 10-15 years. If you want a special visa for Irish, push it through the Senate without dragging everybody else under the train.
Johnnyclash | Feb 20, 2012, 12:12 PM EST
We need you guys, plenty of work in San Francisco.