Treaty Traders and Investors (E’s)
The E categories are designated for
aliens engaged in international trade or investment between
the United States (U.S.) and the aliens' countries of nationality,
provided the U.S. has an appropriate treaty relationship with
the foreign country.
If applicant will be
employed rather than doing business on his or her own account,
employing company must have (same) treaty nationality. Company's
nationality is determined by its ownership, not ordinarily by
its place of registry.
Company must be at least 50 percent owned by persons with treaty
country nationality who are not lawful permanent residents of
the U.S. and, if in the U.S. , are maintaining E-1 or E-2 status.
Dependents (spouses and
unmarried children under 21 years of age) of an E-1 or E-2 nonimmigrant
will be admitted under same classification as the principal
and can apply for a work authorization. The dependent spouse
and children are not required to have the same nationality as
the principal alien.
E-1 Treaty Trader
The E-1 classification
is authorized for a national of a country with which the United
States has a commercial treaty , who is coming to the U.S. solely
to engage in trade of a substantial nature principally between
the United States and the alien's country of nationality. The
trade involved must be international exchange (successfully
negotiated contracts binding on all parties) of items of trade
between the U.S. and a treaty country. Title to the trade item
must pass from one treaty party to the other.
The treaty trader countries
are:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brunei, Canada,
China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico,
Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines,
Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey,
United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.
E-2 Treaty Investor
The E-2 classification
is authorized for a national of a country with which the United
States has a commercial treaty, who is coming to the United
States solely to direct and develop the operations of an enterprise
in which he or she has invested, or is actively involved in
the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital. An
investor must be coming to develop and direct the business which
means that there must be a controlling interest.
The treaty investor countries
are:
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Camaroon, Canada, China (Taiwan), Colombia, Congo
(Brazzaville), Congo, Dem. Rep. of the (Kinshasa), Costa Rica,
Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland,
France, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica,
Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands,
Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland,
Romania, Senegal, Slovak Rep., Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.
The investment must be
more than marginal, in other it must have the capacity to generate
more than just a living to the investor and his family, or it
must have a significant impact on the local economy, e.g., in
providing or generating jobs.
The investment must be a real and active commercial or entrepreneurial
undertaking, producing some service or commodity, as opposed
to a paper organization, an idle speculative investment in,
e.g., a bank account, undeveloped land or stocks, or a not-for-profit
organization.
The funds or other investment assets must belong to the investor,
whether, e.g., by gift, savings, or inheritance. They need not
come from outside the U.S. but must be received legitimately.
The funds or other investment assets must be placed at risk,
i.e., committed irrevocably, although they may be placed in
escrow subject to issuance of the visa.
Even if alien coming
as employed executive, an investor must be in a position to
direct and develop the enterprise.
