Visa-E1/E2
E-2 Visa, the “Treaty Investor” Visa
Eligibility Requirements
(1) The Business: The E-2 enterprise (company, corporation, etc.) must involve the investment of a substantial amount of capital, rather than a marginal investment solely for the purpose of earning a living for the investor.
(2) The Alien: An E-2 alien may be the actual owner of a qualifying enterprise or an employee of such enterprise working in an executive or supervisory capacity or in a capacity which requires special qualifications essential to the operation of the enterprise. Such employees must have the same nationality as the principal employer. An E-2 alien may perform services for the parent treaty organization or any of its subsidiaries
(3) Nationality: The E-2 principal must be either a person in the U.S. having the nationality of the treaty country (or, if not in the U.S., otherwise entitled to treaty investor status), or be a qualifying employee of an enterprise at least 50% owned by persons of such nationality. The list of treaty countries is contained in the Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Manual , chapter 41.51, Exhibit 1 . Note that the list for treaty investors is different than the list for treaty traders.
Note 1: The nationality of the spouse or child of a treaty trader is irrelevant to their classification.
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E-1 Visa, The “Treaty Trader” Visa
Eligibility Requirements
(1) The Business: The enterprise (company, corporation, etc.) must be engaged principally and substantially in trade between the U.S. and the treaty country.
(2) The Alien: An E-1 alien may be the actual owner of a qualifying enterprise or an employee of such enterprise working in an executive or supervisory capacity or in a capacity which requires special qualifications essential to the operation of the enterprise. Such employees must have the same nationality as the principal employer. An E-1 alien may perform services for the parent treaty organization or any of its subsidiaries.
(3) Nationality: The principal employer must be either a person in the U.S. having the nationality of the treaty country (or, if not in the U.S., otherwise entitled to treaty trader status) or an enterprise at least 50% owned by persons in the U.S. of such nationality.