E-3 visa hiring: how employers hire Australian professionals, from the LCA to the consulate

The E-3 lets a U.S. employer hire a national of Australia for a specialty occupation, a job that requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty or its equivalent. The employer files a Labor Condition Application with the Labor Department marked "E-3 Australia," and the candidate usually takes it to a U.S. consulate with the job offer, with no USCIS petition; for a worker already in the United States, the employer files Form I-129 instead. As of November 2026, the annual limit is 10,500 first-time principal visas with no lottery, each stay lasts up to two years and can be renewed without a set maximum, spouses can work, and the $100,000 H-1B payment does not apply.

This page is for the employer and the recruiter. The H-1B route and its payment dispute are in the $100,000 H-1B fee; the closest cousin, for Canadian and Mexican professionals, is TN visa hiring.

Who qualifies for an E-3?

Under 9 FAM 402.9-8(A), the candidate must:

1. be a national of Australia;
2. present an LCA certified by the Labor Department for the job;
3. be offered a specialty occupation, defined as in INA 214(i)(1) for H-1B: theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor's degree in the specific specialty, or its equivalent, as the minimum for entry;
4. hold the qualifications: the degree, a foreign degree with evidence that it is equivalent, or equivalent education and experience;
5. hold any license the job requires. The manual's example: an unlicensed law clerk can qualify, but a litigator starting in two weeks must already be admitted to the bar; where a license is not needed at once, the candidate must show they will get it within a reasonable time;
6. intend a temporary stay. E visas use the treaty visa standard: there is no foreign residence requirement, and an unequivocal intent to leave when E-3 status ends is normally enough (402.9-8(G)).

What does the employer do?

1. Confirm the job is a specialty occupation and that the candidate's degree field matches it.
2. Set the wage. The required wage is the higher of the actual wage you pay similar workers and the prevailing wage for the occupation and area. A prevailing wage determination from the National Prevailing Wage Center is encouraged but not required.
3. File the LCA (Form ETA-9035E) electronically in the Labor Department's FLAG system, indicating "E-3 Australia" (20 CFR 655.700(d)(3)); an H-1B LCA will not do. File no more than six months before the start date. The Department reviews LCAs within seven working days.
4. Keep the LCA promises. Under 655.700(d)(4), the employer keeps the signed, certified LCA, puts a copy and supporting documents in a public access file within one working day of filing, and keeps documentation to back up its statements for Labor Department inspection.
5. Write the offer letter so it shows the specialty occupation duties and a wage at least equal to the LCA wage (402.9-8(B)).
6. The candidate applies for the visa with the online nonimmigrant visa application, the LCA, the offer, credentials and any license. The manual says the only fee is the standard machine-readable visa fee (402.9-8(L)).
7. If the candidate is already in the United States in another status, file Form I-129 for a change of status, with the E-3 LCA, credentials and the offer letter. The I-129 instructions list E-3 among the classifications that need a petition only for a change of status or extension inside the country.
8. Complete Form I-9 by the third business day. Under M-274 Section 7.9.1, the unexpired foreign passport and Form I-94 together are a List A document, and the employee enters the I-94 end date in Section 1.

What does an E-3 cost as of November 2026?

How does the 10,500 limit work?

8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(11) caps initial E-3 approvals at 10,500 a fiscal year and applies the cap only to principals, not spouses or children. 9 FAM 402.9-8(I) adds that principals getting an E-3 visa or status for the first time count, while a returning worker with uninterrupted employment for the employer that filed the original LCA does not; those visas carry the code E-3R, and dependents carry E-3D. Unused numbers lapse at the end of the fiscal year, and if the limit is about to be reached the State Department tells consulates to stop issuing E-3 visas until the next one. There is no registration or lottery.

How does the E-3 compare with H-1B and TN?

Can an E-3 worker change employers?

Not on the day they accept your offer. USCIS's E-3 page says the new employer must obtain a certified LCA for the position and file Form I-129, and "the Form I-129 petition must be approved before you are authorized to work for the new employer." There is no H-1B-style portability. A worker outside the United States can instead apply for a new E-3 visa with your LCA and offer. If a worker's job ends, USCIS may treat them as maintaining status for up to 60 days, once per validity period (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)), which is the window for a new employer's filing. DHS proposed eliminating that grace period on September 11, 2026 (91 FR 57807); it remains a proposal.

Part-time E-3 work is allowed if the LCA says so (402.9-8(J)), and an applicant may present more than one valid LCA, each judged on its own (402.9-8(K)).

How do E-3 extensions work?

• Inside the United States, the employer files Form I-129 with a new LCA if needed; USCIS grants up to two years per extension, with no maximum number of extensions, with some exceptions.
• While it is pending, a timely filed extension lets the worker keep working for you for up to 240 days past the I-94 end date (8 CFR 274a.12(b)(20), which covers E-3 under (b)(25)). M-274 Section 7.7 says to write "240-day Ext." and the filing date in Section 2, keep the receipt notice with the form and, on approval, complete Supplement B; the same steps appear in Form I-9 for H-1B workers.
• Abroad, a worker continuing with the same employer renews as an E-3R and does not count against the limit. Visa validity may not exceed the LCA's.

Can E-3 spouses and children work?

Spouses can. USCIS says spouses in E-3 or E-3S status are employment authorized incident to status. For Form I-9, an unexpired Form I-94 showing E-3S is a List C document, presented with a List B identity document; a Form I-94 issued before January 30, 2022 showing E-3, E-3D or E-3R works together with the USCIS notice sent to those spouses. Spouses may still apply for an EAD. USCIS says children of E-3 workers may not be employed.

Can an E-3 worker apply for a green card?

Carefully. The E-3 rests on a temporary stay, and 9 FAM 402.9-8(G) says a beneficiary of an immigrant petition must satisfy the consular officer that they intend to leave at the end of their authorized stay. A worker who needs to renew the visa abroad after a PERM or Form I-140 filing may face that question. Plan the order of filings with counsel before you start a green card case.

What should recruiters and hiring managers do?

1. Ask every candidate the same two questions about work authorization and sponsorship; see work authorization questions in interviews.
2. Never post "Australians only." Choosing candidates by nationality raises national origin issues, and IER's FAQ says passing over U.S. citizens and other protected workers in favor of temporary visa workers violates the INA; see citizenship status discrimination in hiring.
3. Check the degree field early, and gather evidence that a foreign degree is equivalent to the U.S. degree the job requires, which 9 FAM 402.9-8(B) lists among the documents for the interview.
4. Build the timeline backward: LCA no earlier than six months before the start date, about seven working days for review, then the consular appointment.
5. Match pay and duties to the LCA and keep the public access file current.
6. For a candidate already on an E-3 elsewhere, set the start date after your petition is approved.
7. Calendar the I-94 end date and file extensions before it.