Acceptance of UH job offer
E-3 minimum eligibility requirements
Annual E-3 “cap”
Acceptance of a UH job offer [top]
Prospective
employees can only enter the U.S. in E-3 status with a job offer from a
U.S. employer. Likewise, if a prospective UH employee is already in the
U.S. and needs E-3 petition approval for a change of status, change of
employer, or concurrent employment, UH can only file a E-3 petition on
his/her behalf if he/she has accepted a job offer from a UH department
(i.e. an employment relationship exists between the UH department and
the foreign national).
Once a UH department enters into an
employment agreement with a foreign national, the department must
determine whether he/she is eligible to work in the U.S. If he/she does
not already have employment authorization that will allow him/her to
work at UH, he/she will need the proper authorization before employment
can begin.
NOTE: UH does not classify stipend recipients (e.g. post-doctoral fellows) as employees. This means UH cannot seek E-3 classification for foreign
nationals coming to UH as stipend recipients. Instead, the J-1 Exchange Visitor classification may be the most appropriate immigration status for such appointments.
E-3 minimum eligibility requirements [top]
- The position must be in a
“specialty occupation." The position must require the theoretical and
practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge AND at
least a bachelor’s degree (or its foreign equivalent) in the specific
field. (This is the same standard as the one used for H-1B specialty occupations.)
- The individual must meet
the requirements for the position. The individual must have the required
educational degree in the specific field or its equivalent through
education, training, and experience and any necessary licenses. Degree
equivalents for E-3 eligibility purposes include:
- Bachelor’s Degree = 3 years of progressive experience for each year of formal education the individual lacks.
- Master’s Degree = Bachelor’s degree + at least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the specialty.
- Doctorate = No equivalent. If the job requires a doctorate, the individual must have it.
- JABSOM positions: If the
position involves direct (not incidental) patient contact and the
employee is a graduate of a foreign medical school, he/she must meet
these additional requirements:
- Passage of one of the following exams: Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX) parts I and II OR an "equivalent examination as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services" (HHS). HHS has designated only two exams as being equivalent to the FLEX for E-3 purposes: (1) National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), Parts I, II, and III OR (2) United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), Steps 1, 2, & 3.
- Competency in oral and written English shown by passage of an English proficiency exam acceptable to the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). ECFMG accepts and evaluates TOEFL scores.
- A full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a foreign country or have graduated from a medical school in a foreign country.
- A license or other authorization required by the state in which the Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) will practice or receive graduate medical education or training.
Annual E-3 “cap” [top]
A maximum of 10,500 E-3 visas
can be issued annually during each fiscal year (October 1 - September
30). E-3D spouses and children do not count against this quota, nor do
applicants extending their E-3 statuses within the U.S. with the same
employer.
