# E3 Visa - Where do I start?



## XPISTO (Aug 8, 2010)

Hi there,

First time poster here, thanks for having me and apologies for any silly questions in advance. I'm a 23 year old male (Australian citizen), qualified with a Bachelor of Commerce and 3 years working experience in the Finance industry as a Financial Advisor. I'm looking to move to NYC on an E3 Visa but I'm not sure where to start.

I've done a fair bit of research and spoken to a number of people but I keep coming back to the same conclusion; I have to find a job. This makes sense, but I don't know where to start. Are there better places to look then others; ie. recruitment places who specialise in the E3?

I'm happy to come to NYC again for another 3 or 4 weeks (for interviews, etc...) but I don't know when I should do this. I guess the amount of interest / success I have in the application process will determine this?

Thanks in advance for any tips 
Chris.


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## madforplaid (May 2, 2009)

Chris, you will have a hard time piquing any NYC employer's interest if your applications are sent from Australia, and your resume lists an Australian address and telephone number, etc. I know a couple of people who have successfully obtained E3s and all visited the US under the visa waiver to job search, then when a job was found they returned to Australia to process the visa before flying back to the US to live. 

If it's been 12 months or less since you graduated uni, you may want to get one of the 12 month working holiday J1s available to Australian citizens. The advantage of this visa is that you don't need a job offer before arriving in the US. You could then find a job in your field and maybe your employer will help you parlay the J1 into an E3.


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## XPISTO (Aug 8, 2010)

Thank you for the response, I appreciate the advice. I wish I could get the J1 but I've been out of uni for a few years now so I just miss it. It's promising to hear the E3 is at least attainable and not a 'pie in the sky' type thing. 

Any tips on timing? Like is now a good time of year or is it more a subjective thing? Also, would three or four weeks be enough time? Again, I know it's a hard question to give a solid answer to but if you have friends who have done this then your experience is invaluable to me!!

I guess the other option is searching with multi-nationals who have 'branches' in Aus and trying to get something that way as an interim thing between now and when I eventually go to NYC to start looking.

Thanks again


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

There is probably a million financial advisors out of work in America atm.

Unless your skilled in risk managament you're not going anywhere. Why should US employers hire you when there are better qualified and better educated employees out of work in New York? The E-3 Visa is of course a lot easier than other countries having entry but still not worth it from the point of view from the employers. Also other jobs remotely related to your sector will have canddiates with MBA's and although pretty worthless in Australia they are an absolute necessity in America.

Maybe do post grad study in America and then network through there? Unless you are on the ground in NY nothing will happen but don't get me wrong stranger things have happend though.

Your chances of an internal transfer would become far greater if you secured work in London or Singapore. May not be Ideal but its an option. When the economy in the states improves so will your chances but who knows when or if it will get back to that stage?

Finding work in Toronto or Canada would be realistic though.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Nothing is sure in the current job market, but job hunting at distance is tricky even in the best of times. 

What I did to move from the US to Europe (and it ultimately worked) was to send in resumes and cover letters to jobs I saw advertised in various publications. In my cover letter, I mentioned that I was planning to be in the area "in the near future" and suggested that I would be available to talk face to face about the position at that time. As soon as I got the first positive nibble (and it took quite some time), I booked a two-week trip (in my case, to Europe) and set up an interview, as well as contacting other companies in the area to confirm my plans to be available.

It's an expensive way to do things - and I was lucky in that I had managed to find an international headhunter by the time I made my trip. She took care of getting me additional interviews, so that at the end of my two weeks in Europe, I had spoken to 8 or 10 companies and was short-listed for two jobs, both of which ultimately made offers to me. I was able to take all my un-reimbursed travel costs as income tax deductions that year, along with my un-reimbursed moving costs. But I was extremely lucky - and was job hunting with 15 years of experience and two foreign languages behind me. Having a good headhunter helped, too, and she admits that she ultimately worked many of the contacts she made on my behalf for the next several years.

I'd advise not heading for NYC until you have at least some positive response to your job search. Thanks to the hassle and expense of hiring a foreigner, you'll need to have something a bit "unique" to offer in terms of experience or training to attract attention.

Your idea to look for multi-nationals with local offices is a good start. And ultimately, a transfer is a much better deal than trying to job hunt on your own.
Cheers,
Bev


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## XPISTO (Aug 8, 2010)

Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it! I think focussing on networking now is the most important thing as the last thing I want to do is go to NYC with no real leads, could be an expensive waste of time (but another great holiday none the less)!!

Again, thank you all for the input and I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon


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## Panda79 (Jul 14, 2010)

XPISTO said:


> Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it! I think focussing on networking now is the most important thing as the last thing I want to do is go to NYC with no real leads, could be an expensive waste of time (but another great holiday none the less)!!
> 
> Again, thank you all for the input and I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon


Hiya,

I've just been offered a job and going through the E3 process. I can share with you some of my experience.

1) You need a US mobile and address on your resume. I got a pay as you go when I was here and used Skype to check my voicemail regularly from London.
2) Make direct applications with companies but also try the big financial recruiters like Michael Page/ Aijion etc as well as Linkedin/efinancialcareer
3) 2 weeks prior to arriving in NY, really start applying as most employers will do a phone screen first so by the time you get to NY, hopefully you'll have some face to face interviews lined up.
4) Unless you work in IT, you do really need to be here as previous posts have suggested.

I work in marketing and applied for jobs that I saw on indeed/monster/linkedin 2-3 weeks before arriving in NY from London. I had a few phone interviews in London and had face to face interviews set-up when I arrived, and got offered a job within 3 weeks. I found smaller companies a lot more responsive and the big guys as they don't want to deal with anyone that requires 'visa sponsorship' and the E3 is practically unheard of here so employers don't realised it doesn't cost them anything.

May I suggest you visit flcdatacenter website and download the H1B file for 2009, this list shows every company that has put forward a 9035 form for H1B and E3 visa. It may help you with your search.

Good luck!


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## XPISTO (Aug 8, 2010)

Wow, thank you so much for that response! You clearly went to a lot of effort to give me all the details you found helpful and I really appreciate it. Nothing beats personal experience in my opinion!!

I'll have a look at the sites you mentioned here and see what I can find. You've definitely now confirmed what I have thought for a while and that is finding the job and being accepted whilst in Aus is next to impossible.

My email address is [email protected] if you have any other advice you wanna send through.

Thanks again, Chris.


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