E-2 visa
The E-2 visa is a long-term non-immigrant visa that allows foreign nationals investing in a US business to direct and develop the business while living and working in the US. The E-2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification.
This is the first entry of a 5 part blog series depicting the various classifications of this visa to help you identify whether the E-2 Treaty Investor visa might be the right fit for you.
E-2 Classification as an Employee of a Treaty Investor
To qualify for E-2 classification- the employee of a treaty investor must:
- Be the same nationality as the principal alien employer (who must have the nationality of the treaty country);
- Meet the definition of “employee” under relevant law; and
- Be either engaging in duties of an executive or supervisory position or if employed in a lesser capacity, have special qualifications.
More specifically, an E-2 applicant who seeks to be classified as a manager, executive, or supervisor must demonstrate that he/she is primarily performing executive or supervisory tasks and has a high degree of responsibility within the organization, as well as control over the entire company or over key functions of the company.
To demonstrate control and responsibility in the E-2 company the applicant submits:
- organizational charts showing the company structure;
- a job description that illustrates the duties that will be performed;
- a resume that shows the applicant has the requisite expertise and
- a letter from the E-2 company, describing the business, job, and employee qualifications. The job title and salary are good indicators of whether the position will be classified as a supervisory/executive position.
- specific skills
- The salary that the special qualifications can command
Family- The family of E-2 Treaty Investors and Employees may be accompanied or followed by spouses and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Their nationalities need not be the same as the treaty investor or employee.
Period of Stay- Qualified treaty investors and employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of 2 years. Requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to 2 years. There is no limit to the number of extensions and E-2 nonimmigrants may be granted, but all nonimmigrants must maintain an intention to depart the US when their status expires or is terminated.
Treaty Country– A treaty country is a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation.
To see the list of treaty countries visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/treaty.html.
To schedule your visa strategy session, get in touch with The Law Offices Of Luke Bowman. A lawyer for the E-2 visa will guide you through each stage of the procedure.