Concurrent E-3 Visas: How to Legally Work Two Jobs at Once

A concurrent E-3 visa arrangement lets Australians with two U.S. job offers hold both visas legally at the same time. Each employer files its own Labor Condition Application, each petition stands on its own, and both visa foils land on one passport.

For Australians with two specialty-occupation offers, two practical questions matter: what happens if one job ends, and whether the cross-employer coordination clears both filings cleanly.

What is a concurrent E-3 visa?

A concurrent E-3 visa is two independent E-3 petitions held by the same Australian at the same time, each tied to a different U.S. employer. Both foils sit on one passport, but the system treats them as two standalone E-3s that happen to overlap.

Each petition has to meet the standard E-3 visa requirements: specialty occupation, Australian citizenship, and an employer that obtains a certified LCA before filing.

Two LCAs, two filings, one passport

Each E-3 petition stands on its own. Each one requires its own certified LCA from the Department of Labor, its own DS-160, and its own consular interview slot, or its own I-129 if filed in-country.

There's no joint, pooled, or combined E-3. The system treats both filings as if each were a standalone single-employer E-3 that happens to overlap in time for the same person.

If one role is part-time, that LCA must reflect part-time hours and the prevailing wage for those hours. The second LCA reflects its own role separately, on its own terms.

A common pattern: an engineer accepts full-time at Employer A and 10 hours per week of advisory work at Employer B. Each employer files its own LCA, each at the prevailing wage for the hours worked.

Each E-3 is admitted for up to two years and is independently renewable, so the two visas can also be renewed on separate cycles depending on which employer files first.

Working two jobs on E-3 visas: how the filings work

If both U.S. offers are already in hand, the simplest path is to apply for both E-3 visas at the same consular appointment. The other path is sequential: one consular filing first, then either a second consular filing on a later trip or an in-country I-129 once you're in the U.S.

Apply for both at the same consular appointment

You can apply for both E-3 visas at the same Australian consular appointment.

You need two separate DS-160s, one for each E-3 filing, along with two separate LCAs and two separate MRV fees of $315. The consular officer reviews both packets in the same sitting.

If the second offer arrives after you've already entered on the first E-3, this simultaneous route is closed and the second filing moves to the sequential path covered in the next section.

What each filing actually contains

Each filing equals one certified LCA, one DS-160, one $315 MRV fee, one employer support letter, plus supporting credentials such as your degree, transcripts, and CV. Two complete folders, not one shared one.

The credentials themselves are physically the same documents, but each filing references them in its own packet. Australian three-year degrees evaluated as four-year equivalents apply identically to both filings without re-evaluation.

Premium processing exists only on the in-country I-129 path, not at the consulate. The current premium fee, as of May 2026, is $2,965.

In practice you walk into the interview with two folders, each one a complete E-3 packet for one employer.

The filing routes side by side, with costs and timelines:

Adding a second employer to your existing E-3 visa

If you're already in the U.S. on an E-3, adding a second employer follows the same multiple-employers rule, independent LCA and independent petition, but the filing path depends on whether you stay or travel.

The second employer has to file its own LCA and pay prevailing wage for the hours you work. It can't piggyback on Employer A's filing, and the new sponsorship sits on its own E-3 visa cost line on the second employer's books.

Filing while you're in the United States

Your second employer files Form I-129 with USCIS. You can't start work for the second employer until USCIS approves the I-129, even though your first E-3 keeps you in valid status the whole time.

Regular I-129 processing runs several months. Premium processing on the Federal Register fee notice is 15 business days at $2,965. You keep working for Employer A throughout, because each petition is independent of the other.

If you leave the U.S. and apply at a consulate during a trip, the I-129 step is skipped entirely and the second filing runs as a standard E-3 visa application at $315 MRV instead.

A common pattern: six months into Employer A, Employer B sends an offer, Employer B files its own LCA, then files I-129. You keep working for Employer A while the I-129 is pending, then start with Employer B the day USCIS approves the petition.

You don't have to stop working for Employer A while the new I-129 is pending. Your E-3 with Employer A is independent of the new petition.

Filing from outside the United States

You apply at a U.S. consulate, in Australia on your next return trip. The cost is a $315 MRV fee, a fresh interview, and a second visa foil added to your passport.

The first E-3 status is preserved while you're abroad as long as you return inside the petition's validity window. The first petition doesn't need to be touched or refiled.

This route is cheaper than I-129 every time, but it only works when the second employer's start date can wait for your next planned trip home.

For example, you visit family in Sydney, book a consular E-3 interview while there, and return to the U.S. with two valid E-3 visas in one passport.

What happens if one of your two E-3 jobs ends

Each E-3 petition is independent. If one job ends, the other petition continues to authorize your stay and your work for that second employer, with no filing required on the day of separation.

The USCIS E-3 visa grace period rule gives 60 days after cessation of E-3 employment when you no longer have any valid E-3 work. On a concurrent E-3 you still have one valid job, so the 60-day clock isn't the operative protection here.

If both jobs end at the same time, the 60-day grace period applies once to your status overall.

Replacing the ended E-3 visa

To restore concurrent status, you file a fresh E-3 with a new sponsor using the same mechanics as adding a second employer in the previous section.

There's no requirement to refile. You can continue with just the surviving E-3, or you can convert the freed hours into expanded duties for the surviving employer instead of bringing in a new sponsor.

If you're converting to expanded duties or a higher wage with the surviving employer, that employer should file an amended LCA reflecting the new role and hours.

A common pattern: you end with Employer A and decide to go full-time with Employer B. Employer B files an amended LCA reflecting the new hours and prevailing wage, and you keep working without a gap. Your second E-3 doesn't expire when the first one does, because each petition has its own validity period.

What to discuss with each employer before filing

Each employer needs to know they carry their own LCA, their own prevailing wage, and their own sponsorship cost. Neither side can rely on the other's filing.

What each employer must agree to

Each employer must file its own LCA, pay at least the prevailing wage for the hours worked, and treat the role as an independent E-3 sponsorship. No cost-sharing, no LCA-sharing, and no joint petition is permitted under the rule.

Most U.S. employers have never handled a concurrent E-3 and quietly assume the other employer's filing somehow covers them. It doesn't. The wrong assumption surfaces when LCA costs hit the second employer's legal review.

If one role is part-time, that LCA can reflect part-time hours and a prorated wage, but the wage still has to meet the prevailing wage for the position at those hours.

A practical script for the offer call with Employer B: "I'm holding a concurrent E-3 with Employer A. You'll need your own certified LCA and to pay prevailing wage for the hours I work for you." HR can then confirm with counsel before the offer is finalized, which is the cleanest version of these E-3 offer questions.

A single filing service can run both employers' LCAs and petitions in parallel. Migrate Mate does this for Australians in exactly this situation, so neither employer's packet falls behind the other's timeline.

Filing two concurrent E-3 petitions through Migrate Mate

Coordinating two LCAs and two employer support letters is the hard part of running concurrent E-3 filings. It's the part one filing service can handle in parallel without dropping pieces between employers.

Both employers need their own LCA certified, their own support letter aligned with their LCA, and, on the consular route, their packets ready for the same interview day. When one filing service handles both, the cross-employer coordination risk drops to zero: both packets are drafted to the same standard and the timelines run together.

Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service is $499 per petition, with each filing prepared in one business day per employer, backed by a 100% E-3 approval rate to date.

Frequently asked questions