retzie

The E-3D will be decided at the interview, so the only time lag will be getting an interview and having the passport delivered thereafter. The former will vary a lot by consulate, the latter I think has been reported as maybe 3-5 business days (maybe search around on that, though).

My feeling is that the restriction on first-time E-3's would not apply to a dependent visa. They are not adjudicating the validity of the job/qualifications, just the relationship to you and the usual non-criminal past. For the E-3D, I would just aim for the most convenient consulate - you can always call ahead to double-check they will accept the application.

sheri76

Hi There,

I am working on LCA (ETA 9035) application for new E3 job - yay! Am having difficulties with online LCA application however. I'm getting a warning message that the 'FEIN cannot be verified as obviously accurate by the iCert system'. I've completed this form 3 times already for my previous employer and not had any problems like this. I have triple checked I'm putting in the digits correctly and also asked new employer to verify the numbers are correct (which they are). I'm assuming that aTax ID is the same thing as a FEIN. It was for all my previous LCA applications anyway.

The warning message advises to contact the OFLC Chicago National Processing Center to request and obtain a FEIN verification before my application is submitted for processing. The company I will be working for have emailed docs evidencing the validity of the FEIN (tax ID certificate) to [email protected]. That was Tuesday and it's not end of day Thursday and no verification from the Chicago processing center has been received.

The text of the message is this:

So here are my questions:

1) Has anyone experienced the same problem? If so did you contact the Chicago processing center, how long did the verification take and then what did you do with the verification? Does not appear to be anywhere on the LCA for FEIN verification.

2) Has anyone received the same error message & submitted the LCA anyway AND had it approved?

3) The new employer is an S Corp - perhaps it is not possible to work for an S Corp on an E3 visa.

4) Should I void the current application and start over to see if the problem goes away?

Any suggestions, comments, ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Sheri76

augigi

The employer applies for the LCA, not the applicant.

skodarapid

Hello All,

First of all thanks for each and everyone for your contribution here..... Especially IAN you are the champ !!!!!.......
I am in the process to apply for my first E-3 visa. I already got the job offer and the employer applied for the LCA and luckily it was certified in 5 days..... Now i am waiting for the paperwork to be couriered from my employer.
I got small doubts in regarding the past USA visa Rejections may effect on my E-3??????
1. For my H-1 visa (Administrative Processing) back in 2008.... I was on a Australia Student visa with Indian passport.
2. Visiting visa rejected because of no proper ties to Australia with 221g form.... in 2011...... i was Australian Resident this time.....

I got Australian Citizenship in June, 2012..... Does the above rejections may effect my interview??????? any suggestions plzzzzzzzzz

ian-mstm

Your US visa denial will likely not cause a problem for your E-3 visa... but you must still declare it. I seriously doubt it'll be an issue.

Ian

skodarapid

Thank you very much IAN for the quick response........

I am going to declare it for sure.......

E3only

Hope it doesn't but depending on whatever original reasons, thet might put you in AP.

sheri76

Yes Augigi you are correct - employer applies for the LCA.

I offered to prepare the LCA for my new employer as I also prepared it for my previous employer and know the LCA form well. Both old and new jobs are for design based companies with no formal HR departments that have the time to complete the application.

Considering this do you or anyone else in this forum have any experience when the 'FEIN cannot be verified as obviously accurate by the iCert system' and could possibly answer some of my questions?

Thanks!

TopGun80

Hi Guys,

I will be applying for the E3 visa soon can someone please clarify the following that would be much appreciated.

1) My would be employer has filed for the LCA couple of days ago, I was wondering once the e-approval of LCA comes through can I just print that out and take it to the E3 visa appointment in Sydney? My employer seems to think that once they receive the hardcopy of LCA from DOL they will need to courier it to myself which I will then need to take it with me for visa appointment?

2) One of the conditions of E3 visa is that you can't enter the country more than 10 days before your employment begins, however, for me 10 days is just not enough with little kids to settle down. If I land 20 days before I start work would that be an issue given that there is no specific start date mentioned on my offer letter just in case I get asked at the airport

3) Do I need to certify all the E3 visa documents with the JP?

Thanks

retzie

Since the LCA is not the employee's responsibility, you will find that we (who are/were employees) probably are not equipped to answer your questions. If you run into difficulties, you will need to do exactly what any employer would do: use an immigration attorney.

1) I don't know - I always had the original copy. Maybe look back through this thread.

2) The '10 days in advance' arrival window is the perpetual cause of headaches and no, there is not anything you can do about it. You will almost certainly be asked when you are starting work; I suggest you don't kick off your stay with lying to the PoE officer. Are you travelling with a spouse? If they are on an E-3D, they will not be heading to work anytime soon, so hopefully they can help with the kids.

3) No.

woece

Great advice. I have searched for my answers but haven't found them so here are my questions.....

I am currently on a B2 Visa in the US. I am looking for work but may not gain employment before my B2 Visa expires.

---Does anyone know if applying for B2 extension will hinder my chance of applying for an E3 in the future?

--Is swapping from a B2 to an E3 possible? Has anyone had success/denial doing this?

THANK YOU!

jakey12

Hi all,recently renewed my e3. Wanted to post my experience just to add to the info on this fab forum.
When I first applied for my e3 I was single, but have since married a USC. Given my wife and I plan to leave the US in the next 2 years we did not pursue GC by marriage, but went for a renewal of my original e3 (much cheaper and easier to obtain). Same employer, so nothing changed bar the marriage status. I was concerned I would have a hard time proving I would be leaving the US after 2 years if my wife was American. After some help from here and other sources we decided to roll the dice and chance the e3 renewal. I declared my wife was a USC on form 9035 and expected to be quizzed about it at my interview in Sydney. This never happened - I was at the window with the final consulate staff member for all of 30 seconds. He asked, "are you a teacher?" Me: "yes" Him: "so you need a degree for that?" Me: "yes" Him: "alright, your visa is approved." Me: "thanks, champ."
Got my passport back inside 3 days. So, whilst I don't want to say this is a precedent for others, that was just my experience - which I thought might be useful for anyone else marrying sexy USCs
Cheers. Jake

sheri76

[QUOTE=retzie;10800224]Since the LCA is not the employee's responsibility, you will find that we (who are/were employees) probably are not equipped to answer your questions. If you run into difficulties, you will need to do exactly what any employer would do: use an immigration attorney.

Hi All,

Just wanted to update you on the FEIN verification as it might be helpful to others that may run into this same issue in the future.....

The good news is that my future employers FEIN has been verified finally!

My future employer submitted docs on July 9th to the LCA Business Verification Team in Chicago via email (as requested in the warning message given in the iCert System) I am not sure exactly what docs were provided. Further documentation was requested by the BVT and sent on July 12th. Again I am not sure exactly what was provided. Today (July 16th) my future employer received an email that the FEIN has been verified as a valid nine-digit FEIN assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and that it was now possible to submit a new ETA Form 9035E for processing.

The LCA has been submitted and there was a message in the iCert system noting that 'the FEIN has been verified by the iCert system. Please proceed with the completion of your application'.....nice!

Thankfully no immigration attorney needed......

Anyone know which embassy / consulate currently has short wait time for E3 interviews and is short trip from NYC?

ian-mstm

It will not.


Yes, it's known as a "change of status". You will, however, be landlocked... meaning that if you leave the US for any reason whatsoever, you must appear at a US Consulate abroad to get an actual visa in your passport - and that could take some time!

Ian

retzie

Note that apart from being landlocked, a change of status to an E-3 has its own major drawback: it requires an I-129 petition approval. This puts it in the same league as an H-1B, cost-wise. As no I-129 is required when applying abroad, the consensus on BE seems to be to exit and apply for your E-3 at consul, since this is much cheaper and much quicker.