Treaty Traders and Treaty Investors Visa E-1 and E-2 visas: new application procedures when applying at the US consulate in Vienna, Austria. Effective May 01, 2015, only electronic submissions will be accepted.
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides non-immigrant visa status for a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the U.S. and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital which is at risk in a commercial sense.
TREATY TRADER (E-1) REQUIREMENTS:
TREATY TRADER (E-1) REQUIREMENTS:
- The applicant must be a national of a treaty country;
- The trading firm for which the applicant is coming to the U.S. must have the nationality of the treaty country. Please note that the nationality of an enterprise is determined by the nationality of the enterprise's owner(s);
- The international trade must be "substantial." There must be a sizeable and continuing volume of trade (trade means the international exchange of goods, services, and technology). Title of the trade items must pass from one party to the other;
- The trade of the U.S. enterprise must be principally between the U.S. and the treaty country. More than 50 percent of the international trade involved must be between the U.S. and the country of the applicant's nationality;
- The applicant must be employed in a supervisory or executive capacity, or possess highly specialized skill essential to the efficient operation of the firm. Ordinary skilled or unskilled workers do not qualify. Please note that a detailed explanation of why the applicant's skills are essential for the enterprise in the U.S. is required.
TREATY INVESTOR (E-2) REQUIREMENTS:
- The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of the treaty country;
- The investment must be substantial and placed "at risk" and the funds have to be "irrevocably" committed. The investment must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. If the funds are not subject to partial or total loss if business fortunes reverse, then the investment is not an investment in the sense intended by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 101(a)(15)(E) and in 9 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 41.51.;
- The investment must be in a real operating enterprise.Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or mere ownership of undeveloped land are not considered an investment. Payments in the form of leases or rents for property or equipment may be calculated towards the investment in an amount limited to the funds devoted to that item in any one month;
- The investment may not be marginal. Based on 9 FAM 41.51, the enterprise must either show a financial return that significantly exceeds what is necessary to support a living for the investor or else the enterprise must have the capacity, present or future, to make a significant economic contribution;
- The investor must have control of the funds. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed. Loans secured with personal assets are acceptable;
- The investor must be coming to the United States to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Based on 9 FAM 41.51 Note 14.3 a detailed explanation of why the applicant's skills are "essential" for the enterprise in the United States is required or based on 9 FAM 41.51 Note 14.2 a detailed explanation of why the applicant possesses qualifying "executive or supervisory" experience.
E VISA APPLICATION PROCESSING:
- As of May 1, 2015 electronic submission is the only acceptable method for E visa submission! Cases must be submitted to: ViennaEvisas@state.gov.
Please use the e-mail subject line: “Surname, Given Name, Business Name, E Visa Application”. Use this email address for specific E visa questions as well as regarding E visa cases already submitted. - E visa package, submitted electronically, should not exceed 7MB (about 100 pages, pdf only). You may use multiple attachments. Do NOT send “linked” files, as we cannot access or open these. Please scan documents with a maximum of 300 DPI to keep file size small.
- Between now and May 1, 2015 E visa applications may either be submitted electronically or as a printed paper version.Please limit paper versions to 100 pages and note that the review for paper versions might take longer. The mailing address for paper applications is: U.S. Embassy, Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090 Wien, Att: Consular Section/E Visa Unit.
To begin the process to obtain your E visa, follow the instructions (step 1 and step 2) provided on our homepage at:http://austria.usembassy.gov/niv_applic.html. You may submit your E visa package only once you have completed the visa application form DS-160 and paid the application fee.
Case review begins upon receipt of a complete application. Incomplete applications will delay processing. Should your case require additional documentation, this office will contact you or your attorney via e-mail.
Interview scheduling: Please note that all applicants for Treaty Trader/Investor visa will only be able to schedule their appointment for the visa interview only after submitting the request and receiving the approval for appointment from the Embassy. The request can only be approved once the review has been completed.
Formal adjudication of the case begins with the in-person interview. If, after the interview, the case should require additional documentation, you will receive clear guidance from the Consular Officer on what to submit, and by what method.
There are three different categories of E visa submission:
Case review begins upon receipt of a complete application. Incomplete applications will delay processing. Should your case require additional documentation, this office will contact you or your attorney via e-mail.
Interview scheduling: Please note that all applicants for Treaty Trader/Investor visa will only be able to schedule their appointment for the visa interview only after submitting the request and receiving the approval for appointment from the Embassy. The request can only be approved once the review has been completed.
Formal adjudication of the case begins with the in-person interview. If, after the interview, the case should require additional documentation, you will receive clear guidance from the Consular Officer on what to submit, and by what method.
There are three different categories of E visa submission:
- If this is your first E visa, and you are either applying to work as an employee for a new E visa enterprise or you yourself are the investor, you must submit following documentation: Forms DS-160 and DS-156E; the statement about your intent to return upon termination of your E status; and the full E visa documentation package. Full instructions to build an appropriate E visa package are available here:Instructions for Applying for Nonimmigrant E1/E2 Visas.
- If you are renewing your E visa, provide the following documentation: Forms DS-160 and DS-156E; the statement about your intent to return upon termination of your E status; a letter from your employer/the U.S. enterprise containing a detailed description of the enterprise’s past and planned activities; proof that the enterprise is still operating, such as copies of the last available U.S. corporate tax returns/updated profit and loss statement/balance sheet/W-2 forms for employees and/or payroll documentation and. Only if there has been a change in the enterprise’s ownership the new ownership documentation needs to be submitted as well.
- If this is your first E visa, but you are applying to work as an employee for a previously- qualified E visa enterprise, provide the following documentation: Forms DS-160 and DS-156E; the statement about your intent to return upon termination of your E status; a detailed resume or CV and documentation of your professional qualification (such as copies of education degrees, job training certificates and/or letters from previous employers); a letter of support from your prospective U.S. employer containing a detailed position description; proof that the enterprise is still operating, such as copies of the last available US tax return/updated profit and loss statement/balance sheet/W-2 forms for employees and/or payroll documentation and. Only if there has been a change in the enterprise’s ownership the new ownership documentation needs to be submitted as well.
