E1 VISA FOR TREATY TRADERS

An E1 visa is a temporary work visa for treaty traders and certain employees of qualifying organizations to come to the US to engage in international trade. Typical types of trade include that of goods, services, banking, insurance, tourism, transport and technology. An E1 visa is only available to nationals of countries with which the United States maintains a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation or similar arrangement. E1 Visa Requirements To qualify for an E1 visa, the applicant must be a citizen of one of the following treaty countries: E1 Visa Treaty Countries: Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brunei Canada Chile China (Taiwan) Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Denmark Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Germany Greece Honduras Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan Korea (South) Latvia Liberia Luxembourg Macedonia Mexico Netherlands Norway Oman Pakistan Paraguay Philippines Poland Singapore Slovenia Spain Suriname Sweden Switzerland Thailand Togo Turkey United Kingdom In addition, a treaty trader must be coming to the US to conduct substantial trade principally between the US and the applicant's country of nationality. Substantial trade is considered to be a continuous flow of sizeable trade items and transactions over time and is not defined by a specific monetary value or volume. Employees of organizations wishing to apply for an E1 visa must be coming to the US in the capacity of an executive or supervisor that will be providing ultimate control and responsibility for the organization's operations. To qualify, the organization must be at least 50% owned by persons who have the nationality of the treaty country and the applicant. E1 visa applicants may also be required to meet certain health and character requirements.