E-visas are designated for foreign nationals who want to either trade with the U.S. or invest in the U.S. and who come from countries with which the U.S. maintains an appropriate treaty of commerce and navigation. The foreign national must be one who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the applicant has invested a substantial amount of capital.
E-1 Visa Requirements
You will need to make an appointment with the U.S. Consulate in your country. Some of the E-1 visa requirements are as follows:
- The applicant must be a national of a treaty country,
- The trading firm for which the applicant is coming to the United States must have the nationality of the treaty country.
- The trade must be principally between the United States and the treaty country, (more than 50% of the international trade involved must be between the United States and the country of the applicant's nationality).
E-1 Visa Fees and Costs
The E-1 visa costs include a visa application fee (currently $131.00) and a visa issuance fee which varies from country to country.
E-1 Visa Documents Needed
You will need to prove the requirements above by providing the following E-1 visa documents:
- Form DS-156 (Nonimmigrant Visa Application)
- Form DS-156E (used specifically to apply for the treaty trader and treaty trader investor visa)
- Form DS-157 (only needed if visa applicant is a male between ages of 16 and 45)
- Passport
- Proof of the nationality of the qualifying business owners
- Proof the trade is substantial
- Proof of your employer as a legitimate business
- Proof you are a key employee
E-1 Visa Extensions
Once you have an E-1 visa, you can file for an extension of up to 5 years, but your status must be reviewed and your I-94 card will likely have to be extended as well because it will expire after two years if not extended.
Help from a US Immigration Lawyer
The E-1 visa is a complicated legal process compared to most visa applications. As noted in the list of required documents above, you need to prove not only your status in the sponsoring company, but you also need to prove the status of your company, its relation to the U.S., the substantial amount of trade, and the majority of trade is with the U.S. and not with any other country. All of these specific E-1 visa requirements are best handled by an experienced immigration attorney who can help you prepare all the documents not only for you, but also for your employer. Your employer will certainly appreciate getting documents fully prepared because most employers don’t have the time or knowledge to complete the extensive paperwork needed for the E-1 visa.
