Dpaks

Hi All, Just wanted to share my experience with the E3 renewal/extension ... some of this is probably old news as I have seen a few comments in the past against doing the USCIS renewal/extension but there are a few lessons learnt from my experience too.
I have been here on an E3 since 2006 and every couple of years had my visa renewed/extended with USCIS with no problems at all (apart from this year, every other time I normally got back my approval in less than a week).

- My E3 was extended/renewed in June 2010 with USCIS and was valid till Oct 2012. Got my I797 with attached I-94 valid till Oct-2012
- I traveled for work to Canada for a day in Sept 2010, the immigration official at the airport told me that there was no need to get a new I-94 as this was a short trip BUTTTT he stamped my passport page with a validity till May-2011 (which was my previous visa end date ... well the I-94 was till Oct-2010 but they visa sticker was up until May-2011) !!! I did not think much of that as I had already gotten my extension till Oct 2012 and had shown him the new I-94 valid up until Oct-2012. Big mistake !!!
- For those who dont know, there is something called the "Last Action Rule" which means that regardless of how long you have a visa/extension for IF the official at the airport stamps a wrong date this invalidates your extension/renewal. Generally this would apply when they give you a new I-94 with wrong dates but in my case the I-94 was fine but the stamp in my passport was wrong( very unusual ). This also means that I was inadvertently "out-of-status".
- Fortunately our HR/Immigration person was sharp and she saw this wrong stamp. The solution was to file for "Nunc Pro Tunc", explaining that this was a clerical error and I did not know about the "Last Action Rule". The idea with "Nunc Pro Tunc" is that they ask USCIS to consider giving me a visa from the wrong date on the passport stamp for two years from then (till May-2013). Very stressful time this ... being out-of-status for no fault of mine.
- Hence the USCIS extension this time around, it took 4.5 months this time !!! finally got it.
- I also had to go on unpaid leave and could not renew my driver license(very painful in the bay area without a car to drop kids off to school) since the processing time went past my validity date, ouch. But all is well that ends well so no complaints now !
- So now I am travelling overseas and will be going through a new E3 petition for the next two years (as the current Nunc Pro Tunc is valid till May-2013 only).

Lessons learnt
- Always make sure you check the stamp in the passport.
- If you can go outside to do your stamping, probably faster to do that.

pinkhandbag

Interesting read thanks for sharing and congrats on getting your extension

I'm in the middle of changing employers via USCIS right now. Filed on June 30, accepted by USCIS on July 9, RFE sent on Oct 25, and we are sending the RFE response tomorrow, Nov 13. Let's just say portability and/or premium processing would be very welcome additions

ian-mstm

I'm curious - did you have permission to work in Canada?

Ian

Dpaks

Hi Ian,
Yes, I could have worked anywhere overseas(including Canada) but the problem was that once you apply for the USCIS processing you are not meant to travel outside the country as it would deem the application abandoned.
Also, I would have to become an employee of the other country so lots of paperwork. Since we knew that we had already waited for 4 months for this processing, we expected that I wont need to be on unpaid for too long. It was only for 2 weeks in my case....still a financial hit for no fault of mine but c'est la vie.
Cheers,
Deepak

carlisheam

Hi all,

Just wanted to say thanks again for everyones help in this forum! I am now a proud owner of an E3 visa. Wanted to share a quick summary of my experience.

I travelled to the US on a Visa Waiver with the main intention to travel around the US and Canada along with attending an exploratory interview with a US employer. I received a job letter. To process the visa, the company provided me an immigration lawyer.


LCA- this took around 2 weeks.
Appointment at Consulate - I booked an appointment at Ottawa- waiting time was just 3 working days for my first time e3 visa.
Ottawa interview - it was really simple. They asked me about my job and why I didn't go back to Australia to process the visa. I told them that the company lawyer sent me here and I also was traveling in Canada anyway. The consulate people were really lovely and wished me luck.
Visa pick up- I was able to pick up my visa 2 days after my interview. The pick up place is easy to get to via public transport. It is in a random spot though, so google map transport it.
Degree qualified to American degree - this is a must! There are many services that offer this
Paperwork- my lawyer wrote a massive support letter for me, submitted company brochures and I brought along heaps of intent to come back to Australia proof even though no one looked at it. I know however the other officers did want to look at this!

Hope this helps!

Bootle

It's a well known rule that in country extension is useless if you travel outside of the US. You need to get a valid E-3 Visa to re-enter or if you still have a still valid visa that is what you are entering on. You're I-94 is not a visa allowing you into a country it is the document stating the validity of your status once in the US.

Either you or a your company's lawyer did not understand the rule about in country E-3 extensions.

pinkhandbag

For short trips of 30 days or less, to Canada, Mexico or adjacent islands excluding Cuba, it seems you can re-enter on your I-94: 22CFR41.112(d).

ian-mstm

At the risk of pressing a point, by what authority could you have worked "anywhere overseas (including Canada)"? Certainly not because of your E-3 visa... because that allows you to work only in the US, regardless of where your employer wants to send you!

Ian

Dpaks

Hi Ian, Absolutely reasonable question. If I had to work in a different country I would require relevant work visa (where applicable) and from what my HR tells me this is not necessarily a big deal depending on which country I would have chosen. All this is speculation as I did not have to go through it ... thankfully !

Dpaks

Hi Bootle,
Agreed that it is a well known fact that I-94 is not a visa and that the USCIS processing is more painful but what you might have missed is that in my case I was inadvertently out-of-status due to the wrong stamp in the passport. I was strictly advised to NOT leave the country till USCIS adjudicated the Nunc-Pro-Tunc as there is a potential for the consulate/airport immigration person to mis-interpret my status as having been willfully out-of-status. Apparently folks outside of the USCIS here in the US do not have as much visibility in cases such as this. It was not just our HR/Immigration person telling me this but I also had two external attorneys employed my employer say the same thing so I think it is more likely to be true.

Hence, I had NO choice other than consciously do the painfully loooong USCIS processing. I am now leaving the country for a vacation and will be getting my visa at an overseas consulate.

Cheers
Deepak

augigi

Hmm... don't know about that. I travel for work all the time. I recently went to Belgium for a work trip. I'm working for a US employer, I don't know that I am restricted as to where I can do it. At least I've never seen anything indicating that.

ian-mstm

As long as you're in the US, you can work for your US sponsor. If the sponsor sends you outside the US for work, you would almost certainly need permission from that other country to work while you're inside its borders. I doubt your US credentials would be sufficient.

I'm open to being wrong on this matter, but it just seems questionable that a third country would allow you to work within its borders solely because you have a US visa in your Australian passport!

Ian

E3only

When you travel for work, I assume the HR makes sure you hav appropriate visa I am hoping.

rajesh.sap01

Hi, My family(Wife and Kid) got E3D visa and they are travelling overseas. Now recently i found new employer and got new E3 visa with new Employer. My family is holding E3D visa on there passports with my previous employer and at present they are not in USA. I want to get them to US first with the existing visa and apply for new E3D, but i am not sure whether i can do?

So please let me know, whether my family can enter to USA and live with me on there existing E3D visa(It was valid upto Jan 2014) or Again they have to get new visa with my present employer? Also please confirm whether they can get E3D in USA itself or they have to travel out of USA to get E3D visa?

ian-mstm

It is irrelevant that their E-3D visas are unexpired. Your family's E-3Ds were tied to your original E-3 visa. When you left your original sponsor, their E-3Ds became immediately invalid. They will need new E3-Ds in their passport before they can legally enter the US. They will need proof of their relationship to you (marriage certificate for spouse, birth certificate for child), and proof of your current valid E-3 visa.

Ian