The gap, named · our reading of the rule

Australian entrepreneurs often conflate the E-3 specialty visa with the E-2 investor route. E-3 status requires a specialty occupation, a certified LCA, and an employer with a common-law employment relationship with you, judged mainly by its right to control how the work is done (20 CFR 655.715). The 2025 H-1B owner rule does not apply to E-3.

The Regulatory Framework

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(E)(iii), the E-3 exists for a national of the Commonwealth of Australia coming solely to perform services in a specialty occupation, and the Secretary of Labor certifies an attestation under INA § 212(t). The wage and working-condition rules run through that attestation.

How entrepreneurs prepare for this conversation

• Step 1: Consider board supervision: Independent oversight of your own employment is a common structuring practice where the owner is also the employee, and it is our reading rather than a rule: no E-3 authority requires a board.
• Step 2: File Department of Labor LCA: Ensure company compensation meets prevailing wage standards.

Attorney Interrogation Sheet (What to Ask)

1. Does our corporate setup support a valid LCA filing?
2. Can my proposed wage meet Department of Labor prevailing wage standards?

Pending rules that touch this page · checked 3 October 2026

• 60-day grace period: PROPOSED. On 11 September 2026 DHS proposed to remove the grace period of up to 60 days after a job ends (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)) for H-1B, E-3, L-1, O-1 and TN workers and others, and for their dependents. Comments close 10 November 2026. It is not law. (FR Doc 2026-18631, 91 FR 57807. FACT.)
• Department of Labor prevailing-wage overhaul: PROPOSED, 27 March 2026. It covers E-3 labor condition applications. It is not final. (FR Doc 2026-06017. FACT, from the notice's abstract.)
• The $100,000 H-1B proclamation does not reach E-3. It covers H-1B only (Proclamation 10973, section 1(a). FACT.)

The dated status of the other pending rules is on the status of pending rules. Whether any of it reaches your situation is a question for your own attorney.

What this is not This piece quotes the published rule and says plainly where we are reading it rather than quoting it. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice, it creates no attorney–client relationship, and neither you nor we can apply it to your facts. Rules also move — check the date above, then take the questions in this piece to your own licensed attorney and CPA, who are the only people who can advise you.

Sources · primary law first, our own notes labelled as such

8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(E)(iii) — the E-3 classification; INA § 212(t) — the E-3 labor attestation

20 CFR 655 Subpart H: Labor Condition Application requirements. 20 CFR 655.715 (the employer definition) read 3 October 2026.

Ownership and work authorisation are treated differently in the rules, and that difference is what this library is about. Everything here is written for people keeping the job that holds their status.

Put a number on it. Build Check

Then choose your route. The Immigrant Entrepreneur Cohort is four weeks, while employed, and it starts with exactly this question. See the next run →