E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor Visas

E-1 Treaty Trader Visas will allow foreign nationals from treaty countries to come into the US for trading purposes. There are guidelines and regulations that must be followed, including the following:

The trade must exist when the application is filed.
The person applying must either be the trader coming to engage in a substantial trade within the U.S. or must be an executive or specially ranked employee that is critical to the company.
The individual or the firm in question has to have the nationality of the country holding the treaty. This means that at least 1/2 of the company must be owned by the treaty country.
The trade must be significant. This means that there must be a constant exchange of items or enough income generated from trade to support the individual and his/her family. Trade evidence must exist, including schedules of the total trade, product/service pamphlets or brochures, documentation of transactions that quality, annual reports, and so on.
The trade between the U.S. and the country in question must be substantial (50% or more). This includes exchanges, sales, and purchases of services or goods, transfers of technology, or contracts that require an exchange of trade. This also entails numerous ongoing trades over time, rather than single large transactions that may occur.

E-2 Treaty Investor Visas are available for those who are coming into the U.S. specifically for the purposes of investing in a product, service, or company, or to help with development and direction of the operations that the person has invested in. 50% of the ownership must lie in the country of nationality, and the investment must be an active investment rather than a passive one. Also, the investment must be substantial, meaning that it is proportional to the total cost of the product/service/company, or that it is an investment that is critical to the nature of the business and its viability.

The larger the business, the smaller the investment needs to be in most cases. For example, a business costing $100,000 will generally warrant a 75% to 100% investment, while a $1 million business would only require a 50% to 60% investment to qualify.

Anyone applying for an E visa must also have nonimmigrant intent, which is merely the intention to leave the country once their authorized business is completed. To learn more about E-1 and E-2 visas, contact our professional immigration attorneys at Assaad Law, PLLC at 202-741-9348 today.