Maintaining E-3 Status

It is your responsibility to understand and comply with the terms of your visa during your stay in the U.S. A violation of the immigration regulations could have serious consequences. Review this information carefully, and contact ISO if you have questions.

Persons in E-3 status must notify USCIS of all residential address changes using form AR-11.

Your passport must be valid at all times. Report a lost or stolen passport to the police, as your government may require a police report before issuing a new passport. To renew or replace your passport, contact your country's consulate in the U.S. While in the United States, always carry with you a photocopy of your passport's identity page, and a photocopy of your I-94 and visa. When traveling, carry the original documents but guard them carefully against theft.

Your E-3 status is both employer and job-specific. Your UW-sponsored E-3 does not allow you to work for any other employer. In most cases the University must file a new Labor Condition Application before you are authorized to accept a new position at UW. If you change employers, your new employer must file a new Labor Condition Application before you begin your new position.

Your employment at the UW must remain full-time while you are under UW visa sponsorship. The UW does not provide E-3 visa sponsorship for part-time positions.

Because the E-3 is an “employment visa,” your lawful status in the U.S. ends when your paid employment ends. If your paid employment ends before your Labor Condition Application expires, you must depart the U.S. immediately upon termination of employment. If your paid employment and the Labor Condition Application end at the same time, check the expiration date on your I-94 card as the immigration officer at the port of entry may have indicated an additional ten-day “grace period” for departure.

A petition to extend E-3 status may be filed by UW with USCIS as early as six months before the current stay expires. Contact your employing department to begin the extension process. Upon approval of the petition, you will receive an I-797 Approval Notice. You may remain in the U.S. even though the visa in the passport has expired - a valid visa is required only when re-entering the U.S. from abroad.

Rather than having a petition filed with USCIS as described above, you may depart the U.S. with all E-3D dependents before the expiration of the authorized period of stay and simply apply for new E visas for re-admission and continuation of E-3 status.

Note that a new E-3 visa (the stamp in the passport) can be obtained only by applying at a U.S. consulate or embassy outside of the U.S.

Initial admission as an E-3 can be up to two years; extensions of stay are granted in increments of up to two years. Although the regulations do not limit the number of years that the E-3 may be used, E-3 is a nonimmigrant status and does not permit "dual intent" (intent to immigrate). You must establish to the satisfaction of USCIS that the employment opportunity is both temporary and short-term. If the position is a permanent academic appointment leading to UW sponsored Permanent Residence, the H-1B visa is the suitable visa alternative.

You are required to file a yearly tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Contact the IRS for more information.

International scholars and their dependents may be surprised to learn that federal law requires that they carry "registration" documentation at all times. These include a basic identity document such as a valid passport, plus your I-94 card and any I-797 approval notice you may have been issued.

For day-to-day purposes, we suggest that these documents be kept in a secure location such as a bank safe deposit box. However, if you are traveling within the United States you should carry these documents with you. If you are traveling by air, train, bus or ship, you may be required to produce these documents before boarding. Keep photocopies of all your documents in a separate location, in the event your documents are lost or stolen.