E-3 Visa Renewal Woes

[Aussiegirl74 0]

Hello,

I am an Australian who was working in the US on an E-3 visa. I originally went to the US and worked for a company in Finance and was approved under the E-3. Due to some problems with the company, I changed employers and was approved by the USICS and my E-3 visa extended. At the company that I am working out now, I am a HR Manager, Investor relations person (small company) which had its beginnings in Perth Australia. Anyways, I came back to Australia on June 8 2010 to renew my E-3 visa again. At the interview, the woman told me that I would be put under Administrative review because she questioned my credentials.....

Here is the back story...My education is in finance, and have been in the industry for 14 years. For my first and second visa, I used a combination of education and work experience. I had an evaluation done twice by a company in NY, that was recommended to me by immigration attorneys because they have been previously accepted for immigration purposes. This time, the consulate officer had a problem with them, even though I had been approved twice before using the same company etc. On this last evaluation, it was noted that I have an Equivalent of a Bachelor of Finance with a HR minor. In my previous roles I have been at senior management level which involved management of people and HR etc. The consulates officers words were "You can get anybody to say anything if you pay them"...she also pointed out that "It was a different world", even though my last approval was in 2008. The issue is that because my main role is HR and my degree is finance, they say that I am not qualified, even though I handle all of the investor relations etc for a public company, and deal with the SEC and finance etc AND have been doing the job since 2008....

So, here I am coming back to the US to renew it and they say I am on administrative review. They said that they would have an answer in 1 week.......well that turned into 2...I had taken holidays as I was still employed at my US Company. So I had to tell my work that I had to stay and of course had to cancel all of my return flights. After 2 weeks,I get an e-mail saying that my case has been sent to the US State Department for further review and that dont expect an answer for 4-6 weeks. Of course I was devastated as I had people looking after my dogs and my house and oh yeah not to mention that I am married....unfortunately the US government doesnt recognize same sex marriage, so cannot even apply for a spouse visa...so here I am stuck in Australia, away from my house, my dogs and most of all my wife. Thank god the company that I work for has an office here in Perth, so I am now working from there...BUT the waiting and the not knowing is extremely depressing and being seperated from my wife is the hardest.

So this is just my story and wanted to know if anyone else has had the same problem - especially any same sex couples?

Thanks for listening

[lynJer 7]

Hello,

I am an Australian who was working in the US on an E-3 visa. I originally went to the US and worked for a company in Finance and was approved under the E-3. Due to some problems with the company, I changed employers and was approved by the USICS and my E-3 visa extended. At the company that I am working out now, I am a HR Manager, Investor relations person (small company) which had its beginnings in Perth Australia. Anyways, I came back to Australia on June 8 2010 to renew my E-3 visa again. At the interview, the woman told me that I would be put under Administrative review because she questioned my credentials.....

Here is the back story...My education is in finance, and have been in the industry for 14 years. For my first and second visa, I used a combination of education and work experience. I had an evaluation done twice by a company in NY, that was recommended to me by immigration attorneys because they have been previously accepted for immigration purposes. This time, the consulate officer had a problem with them, even though I had been approved twice before using the same company etc. On this last evaluation, it was noted that I have an Equivalent of a Bachelor of Finance with a HR minor. In my previous roles I have been at senior management level which involved management of people and HR etc. The consulates officers words were "You can get anybody to say anything if you pay them"...she also pointed out that "It was a different world", even though my last approval was in 2008. The issue is that because my main role is HR and my degree is finance, they say that I am not qualified, even though I handle all of the investor relations etc for a public company, and deal with the SEC and finance etc AND have been doing the job since 2008....

So, here I am coming back to the US to renew it and they say I am on administrative review. They said that they would have an answer in 1 week.......well that turned into 2...I had taken holidays as I was still employed at my US Company. So I had to tell my work that I had to stay and of course had to cancel all of my return flights. After 2 weeks,I get an e-mail saying that my case has been sent to the US State Department for further review and that dont expect an answer for 4-6 weeks. Of course I was devastated as I had people looking after my dogs and my house and oh yeah not to mention that I am married....unfortunately the US government doesnt recognize same sex marriage, so cannot even apply for a spouse visa...so here I am stuck in Australia, away from my house, my dogs and most of all my wife. Thank god the company that I work for has an office here in Perth, so I am now working from there...BUT the waiting and the not knowing is extremely depressing and being seperated from my wife is the hardest.

So this is just my story and wanted to know if anyone else has had the same problem - especially any same sex couples?

Thanks for listening

Hey Im listening cos Im engadged to be married to a yank and expect to get work in the finance industry..

I have 10 years banking experience last position I held was a senior management one managing a region for the last 6 years.

I hold a bachelors degree with a triple major and need to ask you....do you see I might have issues gaining work in Delaware? And more importantly...I have been used to a 150k wage here in Oz car included...wot sort of money are you getting over there?

Sorry I cant ansa your same sex questions. But I must add...over there Im not allowed to be included on my fiance's medical insurance scheme unless we are married...living there, being on the power bill, haveing a k1 visa approved etc etc etc....they dont care...gotta be married and thats that!

I hope these people get you processed asap...it must be terrible....cheers

[Aussiegirl74 0]

Hi there, thanks for the reply. My first question is what is your degree in? When you look for a job, you need to find something that is relative to your degree, otherwise you will fall into the same trap as I am in right now. When I first went over, I was managing a mortgage company and therefore my finance degree was applicable. Now, I am the HR Manager and Investor relations manager for an energy storage company and the US Consulate are stating that because I do not have a HR Degree, that I do not qualify for an E-3 visa, as that is for specialist occupations. So f your degree is in history, then you need to find a job in that field. They do however accept work experience as a 3 for 1, meaning every three years worked is equivalent to one year of a degree. However you need to get an evaluation done and as I have experienced right now, although you can use this, they are not putting much weight into my experience. They see that my work experience is more finance related rather than HR related, even though the evaluation done stated that my work was equivalent to at least a bachelor of finance with a minor in HR. So to cut a long story short, you will be fine if you get a job related to your degree. As for the salary, well it isnt too bad over here, although right now there is that recession thing, which means there is an abundance of people unemployed, so employers dont have to pay premium for workers. You may struggle for find the same pay. It depends too on the state. I was/am based out of Milwaukee Wisconsin, where there is high unemployment. I am not sure what the state of affairs are for Delaware. Also the other issue I found was getting a US employer to sponsor me. Alot of employers dont like doing it becauase it costs time and money. The job that I am in now was offered to me via personal contacts, and the CEO of the company was an Australian also on an E-3 visa. The company also started in Australia, so that helped too. So when you apply for jobs, you need to be upfront and ask the question. You cannot do any commission work etc, it has to be salary based.

As for the marriage thing, well it is hard that I cant go over on a fiance visa, hopefully the new immigration reform which allows same sex partners to be sponsored by their partner gets passed and I can at least have that. The US is certainly tough to get into......Canada here I come.

Well good luck with everything and let me know how you go.....

[lynJer 7]

Hi....

Interesting...getting evaluated??? How do I do that?

I have a degree in Bachelor of Commerce triple majors in Public Relations, Marketing and international business management. I have also part completed a Juris Doctor/MBA...not that its going to mean much....but I could keep doing the online study maybe???

The visa Im applying for is a K1 visa which allows me to work, and grants me permanent residency....so I hope I wont have too much trouble.

Wilmington is a city where most banks have a head office due to the corporations take over laws that occur in Delaware...so there are a few jobs avaialable....just hope there isnt too many bankers looking for work...soon find out I suppose....My future husband has a business that I can always play with as its currently only a part time business....he works fulltime for a company..

hmmm...specialised....maybe I should be doing some extra study research whilst still here in Australia?

thanks Lyndal

[groovyaardvark 7]

Hi,

I had my E3 status renewed at the border in a very painless way. I am sorry to hear of your woes, it sounds very unpleasant. Is this what you mean when you say you came back to the US to have it renewed? But because you had tried to renew it in Australia they flagged your name and knew what was up?

Is your actual E3 visa expired? or is it still within date?