Britsimon
Super Moderator
@unclejezza I have recently stumbled across something that may give you a small glimmer of hope.
I don't know if this is current. Nor have I seen the same in any DOS manual. I may be completely wrong about this, so please don't deduce anything without any expert opinion.
Having said that, check this out:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/policymanual/afm/afm34-external.pdf
Proceed to page 14.
That's not just specific to E3. That is the case with NIV visas in general, which is why Susie and I have said that already.