E1 Visa Lawyer

The E1 visa is one of the investor visas for the USA that allows a citizen of a treaty country to temporarily come to do business in the US. The E1 visa is a US nonimmigrant visa available to foreign investors and entrepreneurs who engage in international trade of goods, services, banking, insurance, transportation, tourism, technology, news-related activities or others with the United States. With the E1 visa, the investor or entrepreneur can bring their spouse and children along 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 is initially granted for maximum 2 years and can be extended every 2 years without any limit on the number of extensions.

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

• The foreign Investor, 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, Ecuador, Egypt, 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.

• 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, moneys, or services, including without limitation, goods, services, international banking, insurance, transportation, tourism and technology transfer. The import/export must support business activity in the United States and the country of the E1 visa investor or entrepreneur. 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.

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.

• The trade must be primarily between the United States and the Investor or Entrepreneur’s country. 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 an example, if Company A is a US subsidiary in Miami of a Switzerland-based firm and more than 50% of trade is between the United States and the treaty country, then the fact that an E1 employee in Miami is also engaged in trade with other countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Austria or trade within the US or that the Switzerland-based parent is engaged primarily in trade with other countries is irrelevant.

Do you qualify for an E1 visa? Our E1 visa lawyers in Miami, Florida can help you determine if you qualify for an E1 visa, guide you through the E1 visa application process and assist you with the documents and application to successfully obtain an E1 visa.

Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Corporate Lawyers