Employment-Based Statuses

E-3 Australian Specialty Occupation Workers

The E-3 Specialty Occupation Workers from Australia (E-3) status applies to Australian professionals who come to the U.S. to perform services in specialty occupations. To qualify for E-3 status you must demonstrate that you:

• Are of Australian nationality;
• Work in a specialty occupation (an occupation requiring a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent to successfully perform the duties of the position);
• Meet the academic and other requirements of the occupation;
• Have a job offer from a U.S. employer in the specialty occupation with a wage that is higher of the actual or prevailing wage; and
• Have obtained an approved Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor (DOL) from your prospective employer.

Applying for E-3 Status Outside the U.S.

Australian nationals who are outside the United States must apply for the E-3 directly at a U.S. consulate. Prior USCIS approval of a petition is not required in these cases. The only requirement is for the employer to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Once the LCA is certified, you may apply for the E-3 visa at a U.S. consular post abroad by presenting the following:

• Original certified Labor Condition Application (Form ETA 9035);
• Evidence of academic or other qualifying credentials to establish the applicant’s eligibility for E-3 status such as a certified copy of a foreign equivalent degree as evidence that the applicant possesses education and experience that is equivalent to a U.S. degree;
• Offer letter from the employer establishing that the applicant will be engaged in qualifying work in a specialty occupation, the anticipated length of the appointment, arrangements for remuneration, evidence the E-3 holder meets the educational, licensure or occupational requirements for the position, and a certified copy of any required license or other official permission to practice the occupation in the state of intended employment if necessary; and
• Evidence of payment of the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee, fully executed form DS-156 and any other requirements specific to the consular post.

When planning for the arrival of an E-3 from outside the U.S., consider the length of time it may take for DOL to certify the LCA and the employee to obtain the visa from the U.S. consulate.

Applying for E-3 Status Inside the U.S.

Foreign nationals who are in the U.S. and wish to change their status to E-3 or extend their existing E-3 status must have a petition filed with USCIS by the the ISSS.

TN Employment: For Canadian & Mexican Citizen

The TN category is an alternative to the H-1B Category. It allows the employment of Canadian or Mexican nationals into most jobs offered at Georgia State that officially require at least a bachelor’s degree. As part of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), this category allows for employment with less paperwork than the H-1B category. However, only certain occupations qualify under the TN category.

Steps:

1. The department will complete the TN Request E-form in iStart.  After this, the employee will need to log in to fill out the TN Beneficiary Questionnaire.
2. After review by ISSS, we will prepare a draft letter to send to the department OR an I-129 petition to USCIS, depending on if the employee will apply for the TN inside or outside of the U.S.
3. If the TN employee is outside the country, the business manager, supervising professor or Department Chair for the requesting department will complete the letter and send it, along with any supporting documents, to the newly hired employee.
4. The employee will present these documents for a visa interview (Mexican nationals only), and then at the U.S. border in order to obtain entry to the U.S. in the TN category.

If the position does not qualify, the Assistant Director of Scholar Services can assist you with other options.

O-1 Workers of Extraordinary Ability

There are rare instances where someone who does not have the ability to file for an H-1B or TN (and/or for whom a J-1 is inappropriate) may be eligible for an O-1 visa, which reflects outstanding achievement in their particular field. An O-1 petition is very, very difficult and requires an immense amount of documentation to substantiate it. As the viability of an O-1 must be determined before a department initiates, ISSS requests that the department contact Lukas Green, Assistant Director of Scholar Services, at [email protected].  Once an O-1 has been determined to be a viable route, the department may initiate at that time.

A time frame of 6 months is required to work on the O-1, at the very least, given the documentation and letter revisions required to submit to USCIS. If a department submits a request less than 6 months before a start date, ISSS will refer the case to an attorney at a significantly higher cost to the department.

Dependents

Dependents of H-1Bs, TN’s and O-1’s cannot work, though they can be admitted to a university. There are two ways to add dependents to an H-1B (both must be done without the assistance of Georgia State as these are considered personal applications):

1. Outside the country: dependents attends visa appointment with documents (marriage or birth certificate) showing relationship to the primary, along with their immigration documents and a copy of the I-797 approval notice of the primary. They will then get a visa and enter the U.S.
2. They may request a change of status using the I-539.
   • Due to the USCIS backlog and reports of I-539 applications being misplaced upon arrival at USCIS service centers, the ISSS encourages principal status holds and their dependents consider filing the I-539 online through the USCIS website.

Fees

H-1B

• ISSS fee: $750 (new petition), $500 (extension or amendments)
• USCIS filing fee: $460
• Anti-fraud fee: $500 (new employees only, not extensions)
• Premium processing fee: $2805 (reduces wait time to 15 calendar days)
  • Premium processing can be paid by either the department or the beneficiary, and can be filed at anytime during the adjudication process.

E-3

• ISSS fee: $100 (outside the U.S.) $500 (inside the U.S.)
• USCIS filing fee: $510 (extension of status ONLY))
• Premium processing fee: $2805 (reduces wait time to 15 calendar days)
  • Premium processing can be paid by either the department or the beneficiary, and can be filed at anytime during the adjudication process.

TN

• ISSS fee: $100 (outside the country), $500 (inside)
• USCIS filing fee: $510 (change of status only)

O-1

• ISSS fee: $1500
• USCIS filing fee: $530
• Premium processing: $2805
  • Premium processing can be paid by either the department or the beneficiary, and can be filed at anytime during the adjudication process.
• Attorney fee (if not done by ISSS): around $4000