In June 2005 we applied for United States work visas. The E3 Visa for Australians had only just come out. It was an offshoot of the Free Trade Agreement law between Australia and the United States. I was one of the first to get the E3 visa. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts so it was quite easy for me to obtain the visa. I was sponsored by a company here in LA and I had to pay a US immigration lawyer to do the paper work. It was extremely expensive – around US$6,000 each but should be cheaper now since the E3 has been around for a while. But unless you know exactly what to do or what paperwork to fill out – really they’re quite essential.
Mike on the other hand does not have a Uni degree so he had to get an H visa and show proof of 12 years work. His process took a long time and became too expensive. We got married which helped Mike eventually because he could go onto my visa instead.
We had to go to Victoria to get stamped by the Consulate there – pretty simple and easy process.
Now the BIG BAD NEWS!
In order to be paid here, you need to have a Social Security number. You need to wait 11 days before you apply because it takes that long to get ‘into the system’. Then you have to go to a Social Security office to apply for your SS number. You bring in your forms, wait an hour or so, then they stamp you and you wait... and wait...
It took me 3 months before I received mine and Mike applied much later and also took 3 months because he had to apply again, because for some reason his application didn't even go through - then because he complained, the second process took only 8 days.
This is because since 9/11 Homeland Security has now taken over SS numbers and the Social Security Office has to PAY them for info on them. So I couldn’t find out when the number was coming because they were not authorized to let me know! Only some SS offices have paid!
You really can’t be on a payroll or get paid until you get a SS number. We organized for them to issue the work payments as a ‘loan’ for me to get paid. Mike owns a business in Australia and his payments go there – as an outside contractor. You also can’t get a mobile phone (unless it’s pre-paid) or pay a big deposit, in fact you have to also pay a deposit for your gas, electricity, phone, internet etc too. There are restrictions to paying bills – nobody trusts you until you get the SS number. You have to pay via cheques or you can pay cash.
You can get a bank account so long as you prove you are working and will give your SS number in as soon as you get it.
You have no credit rating either and won’t have a good one for at least a year. I couldn't get a credit card so I used my Aussie one and had a ‘debit’ card issued by the bank here. You have to build up credit fast. You need to buy a car through a loan company and pay it off to get credit, or get department store credit cards (after you get a SS number) to build up credit. You have to pay all bills on time or your rating goes down.
You'll know when you have enough credit for a credit card, because all these card companies will suddenly be sending you offers by mail. In fact it is really annoying because they're not really junk mail since they're addressed to you.
Also, the other big problem is medical cover. You get medical cover when you start work but it doesn’t kick in for at least 6 months. Doctors are really expensive so you will have to cover yourself for the first 6 months. You have to have private medical cover because if you have an accident or develop a medical condition, the cost could run into thousands of dollars. The health care system here is terrible.
We could use our Australian drivers license but some places insist you have a California license which meant we had to use our passports, so eventually you have to get it. So, we finally got ours and it seemed to make life much easier. Then 6 months later we booked a flight to Las Vegas and they told us the licenses had expired! Yes, another rude reminder that we are only temporary visitors. We re-applied and didn't receive the new ones until about a month later, however for some reason they were valid for a year.
It is worth it in the end. There is much more work here and you get paid very well. And the opportunities and wealth here is astounding.
Here's some more information:
http://canberra.usembassy.gov/consular/visas/niv/e3.html
http://www.yasserinamerica.com/blog/?p=14
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30 comments:
Hi Loressa - My name's Olivia, and I am on an E-3 Aussie visa working in Santa Monica. Like you, I also won the green card lottery. Wow. Still processing the information. So I wanted to ask you about whether you and Mike are flying back to sydney for the interview or adjusting your visa status in the US. The E-3 visa is not a dual intent visa (you are basically supposed to show that you want to return to Oz) but I assume that lots of people now on E-3 are also winning the Green card lottery. Anyway would love to hear your experiences, thoughts on the process. I am just finishing up my paperwork and think I will head back to Sydney for the interview as my E-3 expires in January. Look forward to hearing from you! Hope you are enjoying LA life...I certainly am. Cheers, Olivia
Hi Olivia,
Great to hear there's someone else in the same situation. Congratulations mate! Hey, pity I didn't notice your comment earlier because I would have suggested you choose Vancouver instead of Sydney - much cheaper! We have been there to renew our E3 Visa - pretty straightforward.
Yeah, we're enjoying LA life. We lived in Santa Monica for a year, then moved to Burbank to work in a film production company here.
Good to hear from you. I miss Santa Monica - especially the Olde Kings Head!
hi Loressa,
I am thinking of coming over to the USA next year on a E -3 visa to be with my girl friend. I had to query you about the fact that you have to leave the US every 2 years to get your visa renewed. Is there any other option to avoid this hassle?
Cheers
Manu
Hi Manu,
The E3 Visa is considered a temporary visa so no, you have to renew every 2 years. You have to prove that you have ties to Australia every time you reapply - that is either family, money, real estate or something like that.
Hi Loressa,
I have an E3 visa also and am going home to get it stamped as I just renewed it. I have made an appointment at the US Consulate in Sydney however don't know how much to make my money order out to. Do you know how much it costs me when I get to the Consulate?
Also, i would like to apply for the green card. How do I go about that? Is there a way to do so online?
Thanks! Marina
Hi Marina,
The visa application fee is $100 every time you renew.
You can't go from E3 Visa to a greencard because it is considered a temporary visa, so you'll have to apply for an H1 Visa and go from there. However, you can try for the lottery every year. We got on the short list this year after 3 years trying. Go here in October: www.dvlottery.state.gov
Thanks so much Loressa. So, can I just confirm that I have to pay the $100 as a money order? I'm definitely going to go the lottery route in October. Cheers for that.
Hi
Thanks for you reply. But i wanted to confirm that, you had to leave the US to renew it. So you are saying every two years you have to leave the country at least once to renew your visa?
Cheers
Marina - $100 Money order, cash or cheque I think.
Manu - Yes, every 2 years we have to leave the country to renew our visas. We go to Vancouver, Canada but you can also go to Mexico.
Thanks Loressa!
Hi,
Technically you don't need to leave the US to renew the E-3. You can renew through USCIS, but it's expensive and takes months and months. It's more practical to renew by ducking up to Vancouver.
Check out this cool site I found about E-3:
http://www.e-3visa.com.au
Cheers,
Braith
Hi All,
As someone who is on the e3 visa and has been on others, you certainly DO NOT need an attorney and that money is best kept in your own pocket as the process is so simple for you and your company.
CJ
hi Loressa,
I disagree with most of your blog. Your blog seems to be full of generalizations.
1. You dont have to wait for an hour at the SS office. I walked in, filled up a form there, showed them my documents and off I went in 10 minutes.
2. It took me 1 week to get my SS Number by going back to the SS office and asking them if it was processed, the actual card arrived in the mail 1 week after I got my number.
3. I did not need to take private health insurance. I was covered from the day I started working.
Anonymous...your comments about the social security office are correct but it all depends.
If you go there when here is a big line, you wait, if not, its quick. Same with processing sometimes you are lucky, sometimes it takes longer.
However with health insurance there is no automatic coverage as you put it. If your employer (as it seems in your case) pays for it your behalf as many do then you are covered. However if you don't have health benefits from your employer, then you are not covered by anything and may have to consider the US's expensive private health insurance.
My understanding is that the 6 month wait only applies to PPO plans. HMO cover seems to start immediately - it was important for us as my wife was pregnant when we moved to the US. So we went with HMO initially and then transfered to PPO.
Changing employers while on E-3 is straight forward, provided you can get an appointment with a US consulate in Canada (Mexico does not accept E-3 applications). Getting it done in Australia would be much easier, but obviously involves more time and money.
Do you use an accountant to do your tax? I'm looking for someone who knows how to do a tax return for someone with an E3...
I use an accountant at H&R Block. I have also done it online using their free service. It's simple if you only have income in the US. My husband works for our Australian company so pays his taxes there.
thanks so much for the tax advice - will try the online thing first - when I saw the yoyo ad, knew you were from Adelaide too, but solar car...did you go to Annesley? Good luck with the Dexter walk on, sounds like a blast - love the show, can't wait for series 4!!!
Hi Vanessa,
Yeah, I'm from Adelaide but I didn't go to Annesley. I went to Morialta High School. Hey, I just posted a blog on my Dexter Walk-On Role experience.
Cheers, mate!
Hi Loressa,
My name is Chloe, I am looking into apply for an E3 visa. I have just been retrenched from my current job so it is a perfect time for me to make my move. I have a BA in Communications (film & tv production).
I am heading over to the US at the end of June for a couple of weeks. I am taking my son to Disneyland then off to Las Vegas where I have a job interview lined up.
I would love to be based in or around LA and work in the film/tv/production industry, do you have any contacts or suggestions in regards to how I go about finding employment? I have been searching job recruitment on the net but you have to be based in the US to be able to search most of these.
I would really appreciate any information or suggestions that would assist me in joining the aussie population in the US.
Chloe
As you probably know, one of the things you do need to have in order to get an E-3 Visa is to be sponsored by a US company. The company I am working with presently doesn't have any openings but my past job possibly would because they have a few productions going. Of course this depends upon your qualifications. The website is thresholdanimationstudios.com/employment.html
You can tell them I advised you.
Hi,
It seems like some visa applicants don't need to wait til they get to the US to apply for an SS number anymore:
http://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/
Just wondering if anyone has used these new forms?
Hi all - does anyone know what the average wait time is for processing the E3?
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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Thanks for making an effort to write up the blog Loressa, 5 years down the track E3 is still a mystery to many.
I am stuck at the beginning point of the entire process -to find a job/employer willing to offer.
Could you advise on how you went about finding a job while not actually being a local here in the US/or not being physically present here.
It seems like a tough task i suppose.
Hi Henry,
Job finding in the US is indeed a difficult task from Australia. Basically unless you have really good credentials, you have to go there first and look for work or meet people. I did just that. I had a friend who introduced me to production houses, then I spent the better half of the year talking to them and working over the internet before I managed to secure a job. It's expensive because you may have to go there several times, and finally moving is quite an ordeal. But as I said, it's worth it, as the industry/economy is just so much bigger than Australia.
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