E1 Treaty Trader Visa Overview
- You must be a citizen of a treaty country.
- The trading firm for which you plan to come to the United States must have the nationality of the treaty country, meaning persons with the treaty country’s nationality must own at least 50 percent of the enterprise.
- The international trade must be substantial, meaning that there is a sizable and continuing volume of trade.
- More than 50 percent of the international trade involved must be between the United States and the treaty country.
- Trade means the international exchange of goods, services, and technology. Title of the trade items must pass from one party to the other.
- You must be an essential employee, employed in a supervisory or executive capacity, or possess highly specialized skills essential to the efficient operation of the firm. Ordinary skilled or unskilled workers do not qualify.
E2 Treaty Investor Visa Overview
- The investor, either a person, partnership or corporate entity, must have the citizenship of a treaty country.
- If a business, at least 50 percent of the business must be owned by persons with the treaty country’s nationality.
- The investment must be substantial, with investment funds or assets committed and irrevocable. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise.
- The investment must be a real operating enterprise, an active commercial or entrepreneurial undertaking. A paper organization, speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment.
- It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to you and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States.
- You must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed.
- You must be coming to the United States to develop and direct the enterprise. If you are not the principal investor, you must be considered an essential employee, employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.
Government Fees
The basic filing fee for all I-129 petitions is $460.
If you are outside the U.S. and need to use consular processing, then you will need to pay a $205 filing fee for your DS-160 visa application cost.
There is an $85 biometric services fee.
Because the usual six-month processing time for the I-129 petition can be difficult to plan for, the USCIS has created the premium processing service. This allows you to have your petition processed within 15 calendar days for an extra E-2 visa fee of $1,440.
