E-2 Employee

Nonimmigrant visa

Treaty Investors

Executives, Managers, Essential employees

• You and at least 50% of the business owners must be nationals of the same treaty country.

• The business must be profitable and ideally create at least one U.S. job within the first five years.

• Your role must be executive, managerial, or otherwise essential for the business’ successful operation, and not easily filled by recruitment within the U.S.

• Renewable indefinitely, enabling long-term business opportunities in the U.S.

• Typically has a lower eligibility bar for executives, managers, and essential employees compared to L-1 visa applications for similar positions.

• Unlike the L-1 visa, it does not require the existence of an affiliate entity in the country of origin.

• Can be used for new hires, as it does not require 1+ year of prior employment within the same corporate group.

• Requires a substantial upfront investment, with funds at risk (there’s no hard minimum, but typically more than USD $100,000).

• Some consulates have long wait times for E-2 application interviews.

• Requires committing investment funds before receiving approval.

• Renewal for essential employees may be challenging.

Required

5 years¹

Indefinitely, in 5-year increments²

2-4 months

15 business days³

Yes

^{1, 2}Shorter for some nationalities.

³Available only for change of status, not for consular processing