E-1 & E-2 – Essential Employees

Overview

Common Misconceptions

• You do not need to craft a business plan or show personal funds to apply for an E1 or E2 essential employee visa. Non-immigrant E-type visas (E-1 and E-2), although initially intended for investors wanting to establish a business or trade with the United States, also apply to workers with the same citizenship as those companies want to recruit to develop their business.
• It is not because a company has exchanges with your country or is mainly owned by people from your country that it will have a 100% culture of your country. I saw a lot of different configurations … Companies with 100% American employees and no other different country culture. In other cases, the company recruited a team primarily of employees from foreign cultures.
• You will, therefore, generally have the opportunity to evolve in a mixed environment. Most often, corporate culture is closely tied to the country in which it operates, whether as a principal shareholder or a subsidiary. But also the American culture. This will give you a more rewarding experience and help you better integrate into the US.

Eligibility

You, your entity, and the position offered must be eligible to petition for an E-1 or E-2 visa.

Candidate’s Requirements

The employee must be a national of one of the countries listed below that has signed a trading treaty with the US.

A candidate eligible for the E-1 / E-2 Essential Employee visa:
– must be the same nationality of the investor(s) or company(is) that has(ve) majority ownership of the U.S. business of a company that has signed a trading treaty with the US. Here is the list of countries;
– Will be a manager/supervisor or a worker with special skills that make him or her essential to running the business.

See if you qualify for E2 jobs for free!

Entities’ Requirements

The E1 Visa (or Treaty Trader Visa) is granted to foreign companies (same as your citizenship) wishing to make more than 50% of their trade volume (in goods or services) with the US. They must also be based on American soil.

The E2 Visa (or Treaty Investor Visa) is for foreign investors (the same as your citizenship) who wish to create or buy a company in the United States and own more than 50% of its shares.

The country of origin must have an agreement with the United States; list of countries that have signed such an agreement.

A company that meets the criteria for obtaining one of these two visas can then hire employees from its own country in the United States. The employee in question will be issued an Essential Employee E1 or E2 visa.

For a company to sponsor an E2 essential employee visa, it will need to:

• be based in the United States;
• have received a “substantial” investment by one or more foreign investors;
• that this or these investors have the same nationality as you and own a minimum of 50% of the shares;
• that your country (and therefore that of the majority investor(s) of the company) has signed a trading treaty with the USA (for which you can find the list above).

Note: An investor with a green card or a US citizen investor is not considered a foreign investor.

Position’s Requirements

The position should be an essential function in the company; you must be hired as a manager or supervisor, or have special skills crucial to the proper functioning and development of the company.

To issue the E2 essential employee visa, the U.S. immigration services are looking at:

• your proven degree of expertise (diplomas, professional experience) for the position in question;
• your future salary;
• The nature of your future position (you should not be a consultant and work for a client, for example);
• If the company that wants to recruit you has no other workers with these skills.

You must demonstrate your ability to contribute to your future company’s development. And, therefore, your qualifications and experience in a specific area. Do not worry; your immigration lawyer will assist you with this. On the other hand, it may not be your best option if you switch careers.

You can only hold one position at a time and work for one company at a time. Your employment will depend on your company, and you cannot work for another employer with the same visa.

To determine your eligibility for an E-1 or E-2 essential employee visa, we invite you to complete your profile so that we can run our visa algorithm. This will help you determine which visa is best suited to you.

Length of Stay

E-1/E-2 Visa & Employment Duration

The E-1 and E-2 expiration dates vary depending on the Treaty country. They can be renewed indefinitely if you, your entity, and the position comply with the visa criteria. To see the duration of E-1 or E-2 for you, go here, select the first letter of your country of citizenship, select your country of citizenship, select “E” in visa classifications, and check the “Validity Period” of the lines “E-1” and “E-2.”

You’ll be tied to working for your E1/E2 employer(s). Your E1/E2 is valid until its expiration date except if:

• You are laid off, or if you decide to end your current employment.
• Your company no longer meets the visa criteria. For example, foreign investors (the same as your citizenship) may not own more than 50% of a company following an acquisition or fundraising.

If you have already left your company, you will not be granted additional time to stay in the country while you search for a new job. If you stop working for your company, you will automatically lose your visa and be forced to leave the US immediately.

Visa & Employment Transfer

As long as your E1/E2 is valid, you, your new entity, and your new occupation are eligible for an E1/E2; your new employer will be able to petition for you without the need for you to leave the USA. There is no quota cap, and the petition can be submitted at any time during the year.

When you have a valid E1/E2 visa or after, there are no restrictions on filing for or getting another type of visa.

The transition to the Green Card will be more complicated than other visa types. This is because the purpose of an E1 or E2 visa is not to allow you to stay in the territory.

Compensation & Benefits

While you are in the United States, you have the right to:

• Be paid fairly: Your employer must pay you for all work you do, and at least the federal legal minimum wage.
• Work in a healthy and safe workplace, free from discrimination, harassment, and exploitation: Your employer must comply with all relevant federal and local workforce laws and regulations.

It’s your responsibility to conduct your research and negotiate your compensation and benefits before accepting an offer from a U.S.-based company.

Family

Your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 can be considered your dependents. They can live in the United States with you under an E-1D or E-2D visa.

Your spouse and children under an E-1D/E-2D can study in the United States.

Your spouse under an E-1D/E-2D can file for an EAD (Employment Authorization Document) after your arrival and work in the U.S.A. in any sector. Allow an average of 3 months to receive the EAD. The duration of your spouse’s visa will generally be the same as yours.

You must provide that you are married (no other contracts are recognized in the US).

Process

Parties Involved

The entity that sponsors you is your future employer. Your company will need a certified immigration lawyer or an agency.

Process Step by Step

Here is the process in the correct order:

1. Find a job at an entity of your nationality willing to sponsor you for an E-1 or E-2. Your sponsor will be your employer. You and your company will need a certified immigration lawyer.
2. Your entity files an E1/E2 petition with you
3. Apply for the E1/E2 (if you are outside the USA)
4. Get the E1/E2 visa and travel to the USA (if you are outside the USA)

You can not skip any steps. For example, if you haven’t received a job proposal from an entity of your nationality willing to sponsor you for an E1/E2, this entity cannot file an E1/E2 petition with you. If your entity hasn’t filed an E1/E2 petition and has been approved, you won’t be able to apply for an E1/E2 visa.

Job Search Duration

Your job search duration (step 1 above) will vary depending on your profile and the difficulty of hiring U.S. employers in your field.

By using USponsorMe, you’ll save 10x more time; see why here. Our jobs offer E1/E2 visa sponsorship for your citizenship. But more importantly, when you subscribe to one of our USponsorMe+ plans, we will tell you if your project is feasible or not with an E1/E2 or what is missing in your profile to be possible, how long we estimate your job search will take, and we will select E1/E2 jobs for you and send them to you.

The time it takes to secure a job using USponsorMe depends on the number of jobs you receive and apply for each month, your suitability for the jobs, the quality of your applications, and your performance during job interviews. For example, a USponsorMe member with all the necessary licenses and credentials, an American resume and cover letter rewritten by an expert, who applies for five or more targeted jobs on USponsorMe weekly and is prepared to master job interviews, typically receives an ideal job offer with visa sponsorship within four months.

Visa Process Duration

The visa process is from steps 2 to 4 above.

Candidates usually obtain an E1/E2 visa in 3 months. You can apply for your E1/E2 visa at any time during the year; there is no annual deadline or cap.

Visa Fees

An E-1/E-2 visa costs $5,000 to $11,000. This amount is the evaluation of an immigration lawyer’s legal fees. The range is significant because the fees are related to the lawyer you and your company will work with. Otherwise, the filing fees for the E2 visa application are USD 460 plus USD 205 (please verify, as the amount is subject to change).

The company often covers this amount. If not, you will have to include it in your expatriation budget.

E1/E2 Jobs & E1/E2 Sponsor Companies

USponsorMe is a job board that lists open jobs offering E1/E2 visa sponsorship. We also have a list of E1/E2 sponsor companies. You will need to log in to see our listing. Creating an account and browsing jobs is free.

On USponsor Me, we have compiled the list of:

• all companies that have sponsored an E-1 or E-2 visa in the past,
• as well as the nationality of those who obtained this visa within those companies.

This allows us to determine which companies are technically eligible to sponsor an E1 or E2 visa, depending on your nationality, as they have already done so. We also know that sponsoring this visa for the last time gave us better confidence.

To find these companies, once you have a USponsor Me account, go to the “Companies” tab at the top right of your screen. Then, filter on the “E-1” and “E-2” visas and type your nationality. Our search engine will return all companies that can technically sponsor your E1 or E2 visa! For more information on how to find E1 and E2 sponsor companies, please visit this link.

You can also search for open jobs in your field offered by these companies. This time, click on the “job” tab of the application, filter on “E-1” and “E-2” visa, and your nationality. Then, look for offers that include the keywords for the position you are seeking. You can also search with the location you target, if any.