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E-1 Visa : E-2 Visa

E-1 and E-2 visas are non-immigrant visas for countries that have certain treaties with the U.S. The E-1 Treaty Trader visa is available to a national of a country with which the United States maintains a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial international trade with that country.

 E-1 and E-2 visas are non-immigrant visas for countries that have certain treaties with the U.S.  The E-1 Treaty Trader visa is available to a national of a country with which the United States maintains a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial international trade with that country.

To qualify, the U.S. Company must:

Conduct international trade, at least 50% of which must be with companies in the Treaty country.

The U.S. Company must meet the nationality requirement, i.e., must demonstrate that at least 50% of the Company is owned by nationals of the Treaty Country.  To qualify for an E-1 Visa, the Foreign National Must:

A) Be a national of the E-1 country;

B) Be employed as a supervisor or executive or possess specialized skills essential to the efficient operation of the firm.  The employee need not have any previous employment with the foreign company.

The E-2 Investor visa is available to a national of a country that has an Investor Treaty with the U.S. who is making a substantial investment in the U.S.  The term "substantial" is undefined, as the amount needed for an investment to be considered "substantial" is dependent on many factors including the nature of the industry in which the  investment is made; the type of business; the location of the U.S. businesses and many other factors.  For example, if the business is a jewelry company, the E-2 investor would be expected to invest more money as the cost of the raw goods they must purchase to manufacture to sell wholeale or the cost of finished goods they must purchase to sell in retail stores is higher than for a shoe shining businesses, where the cost of openign and operating the business is lower. Therefore, a lower amount of money will be considered 'substantial' for the second type of business.