01
Treaty Eligibility & Nationality Analysis
Confirming that the applicant is a national of a qualifying treaty country and that the enterprise shares that nationality, the threshold question on which every E-1 and E-2 filing depends.
Business Immigration
Treaty Investor & Trader (E-1/E-2)
Counsel for treaty traders and investors moving capital and commerce into the United States. We handle the eligibility analysis, the qualifying-investment and trade structuring, and the petitions that have to clear consular and USCIS review.
A company is a treaty national only if citizens of the treaty country own at least half of it, and an owner holding a U.S. green card does not count toward the half. The money has its own tests, lawfully sourced, irrevocably committed and at risk, so an escrow that releases on visa issuance qualifies and a bank balance earmarked for the venture does not.
The statute sets no minimum investment. Substantiality is proportional to what the business costs, so a low-cost consultancy must be funded nearly in full while a factory may qualify on a smaller share, and within five years the enterprise must support more than the investor's household, by income or by jobs. For an E-1, more than half of the firm's international trade must run between the United States and the treaty country.
We act for the investor, the enterprise and its treaty-national employees, in matters before USCIS and at the consular posts that decide most of these cases. Since 2022 a passport acquired through a citizenship-by-investment program qualifies only after three years' domicile in the issuing country, so we ask that first.
What we do
Treaty trader and treaty investor legal services for foreign nationals and the enterprises they build in the United States.
02
E-2 Investment Structuring
Structuring and documenting a substantial, at-risk investment in a real and operating U.S. enterprise, with source of funds, commitment, proportionality, and the marginality requirement each addressed.
03
E-1 Substantial-Trade Analysis
Assessing and evidencing the volume and continuity of international trade carried on principally between the United States and the treaty country, so the substantial-trade standard is supported by the record.
04
Petition & Supporting-Evidence Preparation
Preparing the petition and the business, financial, and ownership evidence behind it, the documentation package on which a treaty case is approved or refused on its facts.
05
Consular Processing & USCIS Filings
Handling whichever path fits the applicant, visa application and E-registration through a U.S. consulate abroad or a change or extension of status through USCIS for those already in the country.
06
Dependent & Employee Classification
Filing for spouses and qualifying children as derivatives, and for executive, supervisory, or essential-skills employees of the treaty enterprise who share the treaty nationality.
What you should know
The realities that shape a treaty trader or treaty investor strategy.
01
Nationality is counted in shares
Treaty nationals must own at least half of the enterprise, and an owner holding a U.S. green card is not counted. A company whose shares trade only on a treaty-country exchange is presumed to have that nationality. A passport obtained by investment counts only after three years of continuous domicile in the issuing country.
02
Trade means title crossing the border, often
E-1 trade is the exchange of goods, services or technology between the United States and the treaty country, with title passing and the volume sizable and continuing; many smaller shipments serve better than one large contract. More than half of the enterprise's international trade must be with the treaty country; domestic sales do not count.
03
Substantiality has to be proven
There is no fixed dollar threshold for an E-2 investment; substantiality is measured against the cost of the enterprise, and the funds must be committed and at risk. The same proof-driven standard governs the trade volume behind an E-1.
04
Two paths that do not meet
An applicant abroad files directly with the consular E-visa unit, which decides without any USCIS petition and under its own registration procedures. An applicant already in the United States may change status through USCIS instead, but that approval is not a visa, and the first trip abroad means a full consular application.
05
Two years at the door, five on the visa
The visa is issued for up to five years, by reciprocity with the treaty country, and each entry on it brings a two-year admission however little remains on the visa. Extensions of stay through USCIS come in two-year increments without ceiling, provided the trade or investment still meets the test when the extension is filed.
06
The family's status
An E spouse may work incident to status once the admission record carries the spousal annotation; no separate permit is needed. Children hold E status only until 21, so a child raised in the business needs another classification before that birthday. Employees sharing the treaty nationality may join in executive, supervisory or essential-skills roles.
The arc of a treaty case
How this work runs
Capital crosses the border before the founder does.
- Stage 01
Treaty & ownership audit
Before a dollar moves, we trace nationality through the cap table, because the applicant's passport and the enterprise's ultimate ownership must both carry the treaty country. A holding company, a dual national, or a 50/50 joint venture can quietly break the chain, so the structure is fixed at this stage.
- Stage 02
Putting capital at risk
The investment is staged into commitment: funds sourced and papered, the lease signed, equipment purchased, escrow structured to release on visa issuance. For an E-1, the same discipline maps trade flows through invoices, bills of lading, and contracts to show volume running principally between the U.S. and the treaty country.
- Stage 03
The E-visa registration
We assemble the brief a consular E-visa unit will read, with the source-of-funds trail, the proportionality analysis, and the five-year hiring plan that answers marginality, tuned to the post's own registration procedures or framed as a change-of-status filing to USCIS for an applicant already in the country.
- Stage 04
Interview & renewal posture
The principal is prepared for the E-visa interview, dependents and essential-skills employees are filed in step, and the enterprise is set up to keep proving itself, because E status renews indefinitely only as long as the trade or investment still meets the standard.
There is no dollar threshold in the statute, so the record, as much as the wire transfer, is the investment.
2 years
the period of admission granted an E-1/E-2 nonimmigrant at each entry, renewable without limit while eligibility continues
Frequently asked
Common questions on E-1 treaty trader and E-2 treaty investor visas.
What is the difference between an E-1 and an E-2 visa?
Both are treaty-based nonimmigrant classifications, but they rest on different qualifying activity. The E-1 treaty trader visa allows nationals of a country with a qualifying treaty to enter the United States to carry on substantial international trade, principally between the United States and the treaty country. The E-2 treaty investor visa allows treaty-country nationals to direct and develop a U.S. enterprise in which they have invested, or are actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital. We assess which classification fits the facts before any filing is prepared.
Who is eligible for a treaty trader or treaty investor visa?
Eligibility begins with nationality. The applicant must be a national of a country that maintains a qualifying treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States, and the enterprise must share that nationality. From there, an E-1 turns on substantial and continuing trade, and an E-2 turns on a substantial, at-risk investment in a real and operating enterprise that is more than marginal. We review the treaty list, the ownership structure, and the underlying trade or investment to see if the requirements are met.
What counts as a substantial investment for an E-2 visa?
There is no fixed dollar threshold set by statute. The investment is measured against the total cost of the enterprise. It must be substantial in relation to what it takes to establish or purchase the business, and it must be committed and at risk rather than merely promised. Smaller enterprises generally require a higher proportional investment. We document the source, the commitment, and the proportionality of the funds so the substantiality requirement is supported by the record.
How is a treaty visa processed, through a consulate or USCIS?
It depends on where the applicant is, and the two paths are not equivalent. An applicant abroad applies directly to a U.S. consulate, whose E-visa unit decides the case without any USCIS petition under procedures that vary by post; several posts register the enterprise for a period of years so that later employees and renewals file a shorter case. An applicant already in the United States in another status may change status through USCIS, but that approval is not a visa: the first trip abroad requires a complete consular application, and the consulate reviews the enterprise afresh. We prepare the file for either path, and where the client will need to travel we usually build for the consulate from the start. We have represented clients in matters before USCIS and carried cases through consular processing.
Can my family and employees come with me on a treaty visa?
Yes, within the rules. Spouses and unmarried children under twenty-one may accompany the principal as derivatives, and a treaty spouse may be eligible to work incident to status. Certain executive, supervisory, or essential-skills employees of the treaty enterprise who share the treaty nationality may also qualify for E classification. We handle the dependent and employee filings alongside the principal's so the household and the key team are covered.
How long does treaty visa status last?
E-1 and E-2 are nonimmigrant classifications that can be renewed for as long as the qualifying trade or enterprise continues to meet the requirements, with no fixed cap on the number of extensions. Visa validity and admission periods vary by nationality and by the facts of the case. Because the classification is tied to continuing eligibility, we counsel clients on maintaining the trade or investment so that renewals and extensions remain available.
Related
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Explore →Reviewed by Jonathan D. Herpy, Sr., Senior Partner · Last updated October 2026 · Educational overview · Not legal advice