Important notice before reading this post: nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice only for educational purposes.
Those are the first visas Max and I got when we moved to the U.S. I had an E1 essential employee visa, and Max had an E2 essential employee visa (after his H1B was not selected). But we are not alone. Other people who used USponsor Me also got jobs in the USA under an E-2 or E-1 essential employee visa.
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 those companies want to recruit to develop their business.
Eligibility
You, your entity, and the position offered should be eligible to petition for an E-1 or E-2.
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 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.
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 (in goods or services) with the US. They also have to 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 some agreement with the United States; here is the list of countries that have signed this 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 receive the E1 or E2 Essential Employee 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(s) 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.
Where can you find eligible companies to sponsor E-1 or E-2 visas based on your nationality?
If our visa algorithm tells you that either the E-1 or E-2 visa is the one that suits you best (because you meet E1 / E2 visa requirements), then you will only need to target the companies that meet the criteria we just saw.
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 deduce which companies are technically eligible to sponsor the E1 or E2 visa, depending on your nationality, since 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! More information about how to find E1 and E2 sponsor companies is here.
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 with the keywords of the position you are looking for. You can also search with the location you target, if any.
Occupation’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 prove your ability to be active in your future company’s development. And, therefore, your qualifications and experience in a specific area. Do not worry; the immigration lawyer will help 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. 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, I invite you to complete your profile to run our visa algorithm. This will show you which visa best suits 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.
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
You will be paid as an American is paid for the same position.
It is not because a company has exchanges with your country or is mainly owned by people from your citizenship that it will have a 100% culture of your citizenship. 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, the corporate culture is close to your country’s (because of its principal shareholder or since it is a subsidiary). But also the American culture. This will give you a more rewarding experience and help you better integrate into the US.
Family
Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can be 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. Count on an average of 3 months to get 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
Process Step by Step
Here is the process in this right order:
- Find a job at an entity of your nationality willing to sponsor you for an E-1 or E-2
- Your entity files an E1/E2 petition with you
- Apply for the E1/E2 (if you are outside the USA)
- 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 are with E1/E2 visa sponsorship offered 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 get a job using USponsorMe depends on the number of jobs you receive and apply for monthly, your fit for the jobs, the quality of your applications, and your performance at 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 ready to master job interviews usually gets the 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 anytime during the year; no annual deadline or cap exists.
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 + USD 205 (please verify, the amount can change).
The company often covers this amount. If not, you will have to include it in your expatriation budget.
Tell us more about yourself, and we will automatically calculate your eligibility for E-1 / E-2 Essential Employee visas for free. Our team will manually verify your eligibility by enrolling in our premium subscription. If we discover you do not qualify for one of the visas we have jobs for, we will cancel your subscription and fully refund you. If you prefer, you can order the manual verification separately before enrolling.