E1 Visa Lawyer USA

The E1 Visa Lawyer in USA assists international clients with the E1 visa for treaty traders, which is one of the business visas for the USA that allows a citizen of a treaty country to temporarily come to the US in order to conduct business activities. The E1 visa for USA is a nonimmigrant visa that is available to foreign business owners, investors and entrepreneurs who engage in international trade of goods, services, banking, insurance, transportation, tourism, technology and news-related activities with the United States.

The E1 visa is not only available to treaty traders, business owners and entrepreneurs, but also to employees of a qualifying E1 visa business as long as the employees have the same nationality as the principal E1 visa treaty trader employer and they are coming to the United States to perform in an executive or managerial capacity or an essential capacity for which they posses specialized skills or knowledge.

With the E1 treaty trader visa, the business owner, investor or entrepreneur can bring his or her spouse and children to live in the US. The spouse of an E1 visa holder can apply for work authorization and work in the US without any restrictions. The children can attend private or public schools and they are not permitted to work during their stay on E1 status. In addition, the E1 visa holder and the spouse and children can travel outside the United States and re-enter. The E1 visa for USA can be granted for couple of months and up to 5 years depending on the treaty between the United States and the country of citizenship of the treaty trader.

The E1 visa can be renewed when it expires without any limit on the number of renewals and extensions. Simply put, the E1 visa can be renewed indefinitely. To understand the terms and conditions of the E1 visa under the E1 treaty it is recommended to contact our E1 visa lawyer in USA.

If you are a citizen of one of the E1 treaty countries and engage in international trade primarily with the USA, contact our experienced E1 visa lawyer to check if you qualify.

In order to qualify for E1 visa, a business owner, investor or entrepreneur must meet the following key requirements:

What Citizenship Does a Trader, Business Owner or Entrepreneur Need to Have to Apply For a Treaty Trader E1 Visa for USA?

• The foreign Business Owner, Entrepreneur or Company must be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation. There are currently about 55 countries with whom the United States has an E1 visa treaty. Currently, citizens of the following countries qualify for E1 visa: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Kosovo, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey and United Kingdom. For an up to date list of countries that qualify for an E1 Visa, please visit the U.S. Department of State’s Treaty Countries List.

In cases where the E1 visa treaty trader is a business entity, the citizenship is determined by the nationality of the business owners and is traced to individuals who are the ultimate beneficial owners of the company. For E1 visa purposes, when determining the nationality of a business, company owners who are legal permanent residents of the United States or U.S. citizens are not taken into consideration.

Moreover, for purposes of applying for the E1 visa, our best E1 visa lawyer recommends that treaty traders who are citizens of more than one E1 treaty country, use the passport of the country that has the most favorable E1 terms and prospective employees. An E1 visa allows a treaty trader to bring foreign employees to the United States on an E1 visa to fulfill the duties of an executive, supervisor, or essentially skilled employee.

Regarding foreign employees, if the treaty trader anticipates that he or she will bring employees to the Unites States, then our E1 visa lawyers will tell you to also consider the nationality of the prospective employees when deciding the country of citizenship to use for E1 visa because all E1 visa employees of the company must be citizens of the same country as the principal treaty trader, even if they hold other citizenships as well.

What Amount of Trade is Substantial Enough to Qualify for the E1 Visa?

• The foreign Investor or Entrepreneur must come to the United States to engage mostly in substantial trade. To qualify as trade, there must be an exchange of commodities such as goods (furniture, electronics, apparel, merchandise, foods, etc.), moneys, or services (advertising and marketing services, professional services, accounting, tourism, interior design services, painting and others), including without limitation, goods, services, international banking, insurance, transportation, tourism and technology transfer. Because the objective of the treaties is to develop international commercial trade between the two countries, the trade activities must be international in scope. Therefore, domestic trade or the development of domestic markets without international exchange does not constitute trade. Consequently, the best E-1 visa lawyers recommend that the the import/export must support business activity in the United States and in the country of citizenship of the E1 visa investor or entrepreneur in order to qualify for the E1 visa. In addition, the trade between the E1 visa country and the United States must already be in progress on behalf of the individual or company at the time of the E1 visa application. A foreign national cannot qualify for E-1 status for the purpose of searching for a trading relationship.

What Is the Best Advice That Our Experienced E1 Visa Lawyer can Give Clients Regarding Substantial Trade?

In order to meet the requirement of engaging in “substantial trade,” the goods or services must be exchanged continuously between the two countries and involve numerous transactions over time; the focus is on the volume of transactions and not the monetary value of the transactions, although that may be taken into consideration. There is no minimum level of trade to be considered sufficient and smaller businessmen qualify, but the level of commercial activity should be sufficient to support employing workers in the US. Generally, trading with the United States for a period of 12 months or more a total trade value of at least $100,000 can qualify a foreign treaty trader, business owner or entrepreneur for the E1 visa. However, more or less trading activities may also be sufficient depending on the specific case. However, our E1 visa lawyers in USA maintain that the smaller businessman should not be excluded if demonstrating a pattern of transactions of value.

• The trade must be primarily between the United States and the Trader or Entrepreneur’s country of citizenship. In order to satisfy this requirement more than 50 % of the volume of trade must be between the US and the country of the Investor or Entrepreneur’s citizenship; in other words, more than 50 % of import/export activity must be to and from the USA. The rest of the transactions can be international trade with other countries or domestic. For example, if Company A is a US subsidiary in Miami of a firm based in Switzerland and more than 50% of trade is between the United States and Switzerland, then the fact that the company in Switzerland is also engaged in trade with other countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Austria or trade within Switzerland is irrelevant.

What Does Our E1 Visa Lawyer Advise Clients Regarding Their Spouse and Children?

The husband or wife of an E1 visa holder and dependent children (unmarried and under age 21) can come to the United States on an E1 visa, regardless of their country of citizenship. Our experienced E1 Visa Lawyer advises clients that their spouses and children do not need to have the nationality of an E1 treaty country in order to obtain an E1 visa and in fact, their nationality is irrelevant for the E1 visa as long as the principal applicant is a citizen of one of the E1 treaty countries and qualifies for the E1 visa. In addition, the spouse of an E1 visa holder is eligible to apply for work authorization. An experienced E1 Visa Lawyer will tell you that the spouse must first come to the United States on an E1 visa in order to apply for the work authorization document and once the work permit is approved, he or she will be able to work in the US without any restrictions – part-time or full-time for any company, including being self-employed. Children of E1 visa holders are not eligible to work in the Unites States and experienced E1 Visa Lawyers will tell you that children cannot apply for work authorization but they can study in the United States on a full-time or part-time basis in any public or private US schools and universities without having to apply for a student visa.

E1 Visa Benefits

Our E1 visa lawyers maintain that there are many benefits to E1 visa for treaty traders and employees of treaty traders on E1 visa including: 

• Treaty traders or employees on E1 visa can work in the United States full-time
• Treaty traders and employees can work only for the E1 business
• Treaty traders and employees can bring their spouse and children (unmarried and under the age of 21) to the United States.
• Spouse of an E1 visa holder can apply for work authorization and obtain an unrestricted permit to work in the U.S. With the permit, the spouse can be self-employed or seek part-time or full-time employment with any company.
• An E1 spouse can attend educational institutions in the U.S. on a part-time or full-time basis.
• Dependent children are not allowed to work in the United States but they can attend public or private U.S. schools and universities, part-time or full-time.
• E1 visa is usually granted for a number of years depending on the bilateral treaty with the United States and can be renewed indefinitely as long as legal requirements are met, offering the possibility to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely.
• Treaty traders and their employees and families holding an E1 visa can travel internationally and have multiple entries to the U.S.
• E1 visa holders can apply for green card but the E1 visa is not a dual intent visa.

E1 Visa Process

Our E1 visa lawyer explains that while U.S. consulates abroad possess the most expertise regarding E1 visas, applicants can apply for an E1 visa in two ways:

• Apply for E1 visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad, or
• Apply with U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) while physically present in the United States

Treaty traders and employees of treaty traders can apply for an initial E1 visa at the U.S. consulate abroad or can change status to E1 by applying for change of status with USCIS while in the United States. An experiences E1 visa lawyer will tell you that there are differences between processing the E1 visa at a U.S. Consulate or at the USCIS.

First, when applying for an E1 visa at a U.S. consulate, the consular officer can approve and issue the E1 visa for the maximum period allowed which depending on the country of citizenship can be up to 5 years. However, USCIS can only approve the E1 status for a maximum period of 2 years regardless of the treaty country. And second, an E1 visa processed at a U.S. consulate allows the visa holder to travel internationally, in and out of the United States, while an E1 status approved by USCIS terminates the moment the person decides to travel outside of the U.S.

Why Should You Work with An E1 Visa Lawyer in USA?

The E1 visa laws and regulations are not only complicated but applicants must navigate a complex and difficult US immigration system. A US licensed lawyer can provide legal advice regarding immigration laws and legal document preparation and are the only professionals authorized to practice law. Our experienced E1 visa lawyers in Miami, Florida USA can help you determine if your firm can satisfy the substantial trade requirement to qualify for an E1 visa, guide you through the E1 visa application process, strategize your case, assist you with the documents and application and communicate with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad or USCIS to successfully obtain the E1 visa.

Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers