How to Ask Your Employer for E-3 Visa Sponsorship

E-3 visa sponsorship looks more intimidating to U.S. employers than it actually is. Hiring managers hear "visa sponsorship" and default to the H-1B mental model: a lottery, an expensive petition, months of USCIS processing. The E-3 visa is structurally different, and the conversation is easier than you'd expect once you know what to say.

For consular processing (the standard route for Australians applying from outside the U.S.), the employer's only required step is filing a free Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor, certified in about seven business days. No USCIS petition, no lottery, and the annual cap of 10,500 visas has never been reached.

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How to ask your employer for E-3 visa sponsorship

When to bring it up

It's best to bring up your need for E-3 visa sponsorship after you've established fit and mutual interest, usually during a recruiter screen or at the offer stage. Early on, ask whether the company has any Australian employees. If they do, the E-3 process isn't a barrier. They already know it.

What to say

Lead with what the employer doesn't have to do, before the recruiter locks onto the H-1B mental model. A script that works:

"Before we go much further, I wanted to flag that I'm Australian, so I'd be looking at an E-3. It's a work visa specifically for Australian professionals, and it's structurally different from the H-1B. No lottery, no USCIS petition, no annual cap issue.

For your team, the entire process is one free form with the Department of Labor called a Labor Condition Application, and it takes about a week to get certified.

There's a service I've been looking at called Migrate Mate that files it end-to-end for a flat $499 fee, so the only thing your HR team would need to do is review and sign. Happy to send over a short overview you can forward to HR if that's useful."

The script frames the filing service as research you've done for yourself, not a pitch, and names the burden reduction explicitly.

When the recruiter asks follow-up questions about the E-3 visa

Three follow-ups come up almost every time. Having clean answers ready changes how the conversation lands.

If they ask who pays for the filing service:

"Typically the employer covers it, same as background checks, relocation, or any standard hiring cost. For the company, $499 to have the LCA, DS-160, and interview booking handled externally is usually less than what HR would spend in internal time figuring out the LCA process from scratch, and a fraction of what employers typically spend on H-1B filings."

If they ask whether they need a lawyer:

"For a typical case, no. The filing service handles the form itself. If there's anything unusual about the role's requirements or if your legal team wants to be involved, that's when an attorney makes sense, but for most E-3 cases it's just the form."

If they ask about the timeline:

"LCA certification takes about a week. After that, everything is on my side: the DS-160, the consulate interview, the visa stamp. Four to six weeks total from filing to visa in hand."

If they say "we don't do visa sponsorship"

This response almost always means H-1B visa. It's worth clarifying before you accept it as final.

"That makes sense, H-1B sponsorship really is expensive and complex. The E-3 visa is a different process though. It's an Australian-specific visa and your team's only involvement is one free form with the Department of Labor. There's also a flat-fee service called Migrate Mate that handles the filing itself, so your HR team isn't learning a new process from scratch. Could I send over a short overview?"

If they need to check with HR or loop in legal

Recruiters typically can't greenlight visa sponsorship on their own and needs to loop in HR, legal, or leadership. The goal is to keep momentum before the conversation goes cold.

"Totally understand. I'll send you a short overview today that your HR team can reference, so whoever you loop in has the facts up front instead of starting from scratch. What email should I send it to?"

What to send in the follow-up email asking for E-3 visa sponsorship

When the recruiter asks for more info, have a one-pager ready to send the same day.

Below is a sample email you can send your employer:

Subject: E-3 visa sponsorship: quick overview for your HR team

Hi [name],
Thanks for the conversation earlier. As promised, here's a short overview of the E-3 visa so your HR team has the facts up front:

• What it is: U.S. work visa specifically for Australian professionals in specialty occupations.
• Key differences from H-1B: No lottery, no USCIS petition in the consular route, and the annual cap of 10,500 visas has never been reached.
• What your team would need to do: File one free form with the Department of Labor (the Labor Condition Application). DOL certifies it in about seven business days.
• Filing options: HR can file directly through the DOL's online system, or use Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service for $499 flat (they handle the LCA, DS-160, and consulate booking within one business day). Details at migratemate.co/visa/e3.
• Timeline: 4–6 weeks from filing to visa in hand.
• Employer cost: $0 in government fees for the consular route.

For more information, you can read this E-3 visa guide for employers: https://migratemate.co/blog/e3-visa-employer-guide

Happy to jump on a call with you or HR directly if questions come up.
Best,

[Your name]

What your employer actually has to do

For the consular route, your employer's substantive involvement comes down to one thing: filing a free Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor.

The LCA is a single form. It confirms the role qualifies as a specialty occupation and that you'll be paid at or above the prevailing wage. DOL certifies it in about seven business days. There are three ways to get it filed:

• HR files it directly. Free. Works best for employers who've filed LCAs before and have HR or legal teams familiar with the process.
• Migrate Mate's E-3 visa filing service. $499 flat fee, filed within one business day. Handles the LCA, DS-160, document review, and consulate interview booking end-to-end. HR's only role is to review and sign.
• Outside immigration attorney. Variable cost. Worth using for cases with legal complexity (prior visa issues, borderline specialty occupation, complex change-of-status).

Most employers who've never sponsored an E-3 before find the filing service the easiest path.

What it costs your employer

For the consular route, the employer pays $0 in government fees. You pay the consulate fees directly: a $315 MRV fee and a $250 Visa Integrity Fee at the interview.

For the I-129 route (change of status from within the U.S.), the employer is required by law to pay $810 to $1,615 in government fees depending on employer size. Optional premium processing adds $2,965 for a 15-business-day decision. Check the USCIS fee schedule for updates.

Either way, most E-3 cases cost the employer less than a routine background check or relocation package.

The E-3 visa process, step by step

Here's what happens once your employer agrees to sponsor, from your perspective as the applicant.

Week 1: Your employer files the LCA

Your employer (or their filing service) submits the Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor. This confirms your role qualifies as a specialty occupation and that you'll be paid at or above the prevailing wage. DOL certifies it in about seven business days.

Week 2: You get your documents

Your employer hands you two things: the certified LCA and a job offer letter with your role, duties, salary, and work location clearly stated. That's your packet for the consulate.

If the offer letter is vague on salary or the degree requirement, ask for revisions. Consular officers can question specialty occupation status at the interview if the letter isn't explicit.

Weeks 2–8: DS-160 and consulate interview

You complete the DS-160 (online visa application), pay the $315 MRV fee, and schedule an interview at a U.S. consulate.

As of October 2025, all E-3 applicants need an in-person interview (waivers ended). Appointment wait times vary by consulate, and that's the variable part of the timeline. Check Migrate Mate's E-3 visa appointment calendar to compare wait times and appointment availability across all consulates.

If you're using a filing service like Migrate Mate, they handle the DS-160 and appointment booking for you.

Interview day

Bring your LCA, offer letter, DS-160 confirmation, passport, and supporting documents. Interviews are typically short, five to fifteen minutes. If approved, you pay the $250 Visa Integrity Fee and leave your passport for visa stamping. Visa issuance usually takes about a week.

You're in

Once you have your visa stamp, you can enter the U.S. and start work. The E-3 is a two-year visa, renewable indefinitely in two-year increments.

When your E-3 visa case needs an immigration attorney

A filing service works well for typical cases. Talk to an immigration attorney before filing if any of these apply:

• The role's degree requirement is ambiguous, or the job description says "degree preferred" rather than required
• You've had a prior U.S. visa denial, overstay, or removal proceeding
• You're applying for change of status from within the U.S. with dependents already on other statuses
• The prevailing wage for the role and location is close to what the employer is offering
• You're planning concurrent employment (a second E-3 while maintaining the first)
• The employer operates across multiple work locations and the actual work site is unclear

For most candidates with a clean immigration history and a clear specialty-occupation role, none of these apply.

Why Australians use Migrate Mate for E-3 filing

Most Australians raising the sponsorship conversation for the first time just want to make it easy for their employer to say yes. Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service exists for that reason.

• $499 flat fee. No hourly billing, no retainer, no surprise charges.
• Filed within one business day. No waiting weeks for an attorney to review.
• End-to-end filing. LCA, DS-160, document review, and consulate interview booking, all handled.
• Your HR team's only role is review and sign. They don't have to learn the LCA process from scratch or find an immigration lawyer.
• Built for Australians. Every case we file is an E-3. We know the process, the consulate patterns, and the edge cases.

Frequently asked questions