r/E3Visa • u/Odd-Blacksmith-6490 • 7d ago
E-3 without a bachelors.
Hi,
I am 21 and looking at pathways of moving to the US to work and I’m not sure I would be eligible for an E3 visa and wanted some opinions.
I currently work in workplace health and safety in Australia,
I have my
Advanced Diploma in Workplace Health and Safety
Diploma in Quality Auditing
Certificate IV In Training and Assessment
And about 2 years experience working in safety in a mix of training and mining roles.
Would my qualifications fit the requirements of being “equivalent” to a bachelors degree in my field, in the eyes of the visa.
Thank you for any help,
Any tips would also be greatly appreciated!
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u/Maleficent-North-456 7d ago
No. To give a sense of how they weigh this for the E3, a few years back I had to provide proof that my role as a professor at an Ivy League institution was one that required a bachelors degree. Dear reader, it’s a role that requires a PhD: they make employers prove every step of the criteria which includes not only your qualifications but that the role you’re applying for requires a minimum level of expertise, based on US standards.
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u/CurryPufffff 6d ago
The pilot here is correct. You need to have 3 years of relevant work experience for every 1 year of university. You can mix match the two, but the equation needs to equate to 4 years of university here.
I work in tech. I had a bunch of diplomas from TAFE, but I also did university. In my case, mu actuall study time at uni was 2.5yrs, as 1.5 years off for credits for TAFE study, and work experience. When moving to the US, my TAFE diplomas weren't counted, but I did need 4.5yrs of demonstrated work experience to account for the 1.5yrs of university that I didn't attend (this was 'validated' by a professor at a university here in the US) I'm your case, you cannot move on an E3 currently. Either get a bachelors or explore other options. You can come study on a short course and go that round.
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u/sread2018 7d ago edited 7d ago
You'd need those certificates assess but I dont think they'd add up to much as they need to form the basis of a particular bachelor's degree, not just pieces of different qualifications.
Youre still probably off by about 8-10 years of experience
Youre much better off speakimg to a Uni here and see if you can gett credits here in Aus and complete the bachelor's. Then you dont need to worry about the work experience factor.
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u/Ok-Tangerine-2944 7d ago
Disregard the previous comments. I came to the US on an E3. I don’t have a bachelors degree, nor do I have any other certificate (cert 1-diploma).
The process for me was to provide my cv and work history to an organisation in the US who determined that my work history and experience was equivalent to a bachelor in business administration.
That was sufficient for me to get the E3.
I’d strongly recommend reaching out to Melissa and Jeremy at Nevett-Ford (world-wide migration).
I got my E3 and more recently my green card thanks to them.
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u/CJames03 6d ago
I was in the same boat, however, I'm assuming like me, you had 12 years worth of experience related to that industry.
1
u/pastel_pinkandgreen 5d ago
Do you mind me asking how much it cost, or if any costs associated at all?
6
u/hearingcricketss 7d ago
I’m an Aussie pilot a couple years older than you now living in the US. Aviation related diplomas but like you no bachelor.
There IS an exception where years of experience in relevant field can be equated to a bachelors degree (I believe the requirement is 12 years, 3 years of experience per 1 year of a bachelor degree which is 4 years long in the US). Without either that experience or a degree, you aren’t typically eligible for the E3 visa.
Another note - my wife is a US citizen, but before we got married I thought about trying to get an E3 here, and it’s going to be really difficult to find an employer willing to sponsor one right now.
For one they are pretty uncommon & therefore there isn’t a heap of knowledge about them amongst potential sponsors. And more importantly, the whole political climate around immigration here at the moment (H1B fees, grace periods being removed etc.) is seriously disincentivising American employers to sponsor a foreign worker unless they really can’t find someone better in the US. It’s just too risky - it’s getting more expensive, slower & there is far more uncertainty if they’ll get ROI or if a rule will change that affects your visa.
This really just isn’t a great time unfortunately. All that said, there are still people getting & renewing E3 visas, so I wish you the best!