From E-3 to green card: routes for Australians

The E-3 is a great visa for getting to LA. It just isn't built for staying forever, so the move to a green card needs careful timing.

The short version

The E-3 isn't "dual intent". Under State Department rules, an E applicant is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they show a clear intent to leave when their status ends [1].
The most common route is employer sponsorship: a PERM labour certification, then an I-140 petition, then the green card itself [3].
PERM is slow. The Department of Labor's analyst review was taking around 300–360 days in late 2026, on top of the prevailing wage step [2].
Australians usually don't face the long country backlogs that hit India and China, so the wait after PERM can be short [3].
After five years as a permanent resident you can usually apply for US citizenship, and Australia lets you keep your Australian citizenship [6][7].

Why the E-3 makes this tricky

Visas like the H-1B and L-1 allow "dual intent": you can hold them while openly pursuing a green card. The E-3 doesn't. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual says E applicants are presumed to be immigrants until they satisfy the consular officer otherwise, and that an "unequivocal intent to depart" when E status ends is normally enough [1].

That creates three pressure points:

Visa renewals at the consulate. Each new E-3 stamp means an interview, and since September 2025 that interview must be in your country of nationality or residence, so for most readers it's Sydney or Melbourne [7]. The further your green card case has gone, the harder it is to argue you plan to leave.
Re-entry at LAX. A border officer can ask about intent too.
Filing the green card application (I-485). This is an open statement that you want to stay. Once it's filed, travelling on your E-3 becomes risky, and most people travel on advance parole instead [3].

None of this means E-3 holders can't get green cards. Plenty do. It means you plan the sequence, ideally extending E-3 status through USCIS in the US rather than at a consulate when your case is underway.

The main routes compared

Route	Who it suits	Employer needed?	Rough timing (2026)
EB-2 or EB-3 via PERM	Most E-3 professionals	Yes	PERM about 10–12 months for analyst review, plus prevailing wage, I-140 and the final stage [2][3]
EB-2 National Interest Waiver	Researchers, founders, specialists whose work matters nationally	No, self-petition	Depends on processing; no PERM step [3]
EB-1A extraordinary ability	Top of the field, sustained acclaim	No, self-petition	Depends on processing; a high bar [3]
Marriage to a US citizen	Spouses and fiancés of US citizens	No	No visa-number queue for immediate relatives [3]
Diversity visa lottery	Anyone from an eligible country	No	FY 2027 registration closed and suspended as of November 2026 [5]

Employer sponsorship step by step

This is the route most Australians in LA take: your E-3 employer agrees to sponsor you.

Prevailing wage determination. Your employer asks the Department of Labor what the job must pay. In late 2026 DOL was working on PERM wage requests received around June 2026 [2].
Recruitment. The employer advertises the role to test the US labour market. You don't apply for your own job; the employer documents whether qualified US workers applied.
PERM filing. The employer files the labour certification. The filing date becomes your priority date [3]. DOL's analyst review averaged 300 days over the 30 days to 31 October 2026, and 360 days over the past 180 days [2].
Form I-140. Once PERM is certified, the employer files the immigrant petition. Premium processing costs US$2,965 for filings postmarked from 1 March 2026 [4], and there's also an Asylum Program Fee of US$600, or US$300 for employers with 25 or fewer staff [8].
Check the Visa Bulletin. Australia isn't an oversubscribed country, so EB-2 and EB-3 dates for "all chargeability areas" have often been current or close to it. They do move, so check each month [3].
Adjust status or go through the consulate. Most people in LA file Form I-485 to adjust status in the US, often with a work permit and advance parole application. When filed together with an I-485, the work permit application fee was set at US$260 under the 2024 fee rule [8].
Get the card. Your green card arrives in the post. Keep it with you: Smartraveller notes non-citizen residents should carry proof of legal status such as the permanent resident card [7].

Who pays?

US rules generally make the employer responsible for the PERM costs. Other steps are often paid by the employer too, but that's a negotiation. Get it in writing before you start, along with what happens if you leave.

Changing jobs mid-way

PERM is tied to a specific job. Leave early and you usually start again with a new employer. Later in the process there's more flexibility, but that's a question for your lawyer, not a forum thread.

Marriage, family and self-petitions

Marrying a US citizen puts you in the "immediate relative" category, which has no annual cap and no visa-number wait [3]. Couples still need to prove the relationship is genuine. If you married soon after arriving on an E-3, expect questions about intent.

De facto relationships don't count for US immigration, which surprises a lot of Australians. Being in a long-term relationship with an American isn't enough on its own.

Self-petitions let you skip the employer. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver needs work of substantial merit and national importance; EB-1A needs sustained national or international acclaim [3]. Both need strong evidence. Because E-3 extensions have no fixed limit, some Australians spend a few years building the record, such as papers, patents, press and awards, before filing.

The green card lottery

The Diversity Visa programme offers green cards to people from countries with low US immigration, and Australians have historically been able to enter. Right now it's not an option. The FY 2027 registration never opened, and on 2 November 2026 Envoy Global reported that the Ninth Circuit had stayed an order that would have forced it to reopen. No new timeline had been announced [5]. Check the State Department's DV page before assuming it's back.

Citizenship and staying Australian

Once you hold a green card, the usual path to citizenship is five years as a permanent resident, with continuous residence, at least 30 months physically in the US, three months in your state or USCIS district, and English and civics tests [6]. A shorter route exists for some spouses of US citizens.

Australia has allowed its citizens to take up another citizenship without losing Australian citizenship since 2002. Smartraveller notes the US recognises dual nationality too [7].

The Australian angle doesn't stop there:

Tax. A green card makes you a US tax resident, taxed on worldwide income, and that continues even if you move home until you formally give up the card. The Australia–US tax treaty helps avoid double tax, but your super, Australian shares and rental property all need US reporting. Our US and California tax guide covers it.
Social security. Australia and the US have a social security agreement, which can help you combine work periods in both countries for pension purposes.
Moving home. A green card can be treated as abandoned if you live outside the US for long periods. Think before you take a long stint back in Sydney.

Rules change fast in US immigration, so swap notes with people at the same stage. Join Cooee USA, our Facebook group for Australians in the USA, where members compare PERM timelines and E-3 renewal stories.

From E-3 to green card: how Australians get US permanent residency