Non-Immigrant Visas Treaty Trader/Treaty Investor Visas (E)

The following describes the two types of non-immigrant visas for persons who want to invest in or trade with a company in the US: the Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) visas. NOTE: The E visas are nonimmigrant visas only.  Persons wishing to remain indefinitely in the US should apply for the appropriate immigrant visa. An E-1 Treaty Trader visa allows the recipient to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, as long as that trade is principally between the United States and the treaty country.  The E-2 Treaty Investor is to permit the recipient to develop and direct the operations of a commercial enterprise in which he/she has invested, or is in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital.  The US must maintain a treaty of commerce and navigation with a country before that country’s nationals can qualify for E-visas.  The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 created the requisite treaty of commerce for Mexican nationals. NOTE:  The Consulate processes E-visa applications for Mexican Nationals.  The one exception is for resident Third Country Nationals (TCNs), who were residents of Mexico prior to receiving E-visa status and can demonstrate this.  The following information applies to Mexican nationals.   TCN residents of Mexico should consult the E-visa information available on the website of the US Embassy in their country of nationality to learn about any special considerations prior to submitting an application. How to Apply Applicants should make an appointment online www.usvisa-mexico.com.  Please note that each person applying to receive the visa must have an individual appointment. On the day of the interview, please bring the information listed below, divided into the "tabs" delineated below. Tab A (Table of Contents) Please include a cover letter describing the enterprise and the applicant.  This letter should address all the requirements for E-1/E-2 visa eligibility.  These requirements include: Basic Requirements: Treaty Trader (E-1) Visa for Mexican Nationals 1.      The visa applicant must be a Mexican national. 2.      The trading firm must have Mexican nationality (i.e., be majority-owned by Mexican nationals).  The international trade must be “substantial” in the sense that there is a sizeable and continuing volume of trade. 3.      The trade must be principally between the US and Mexico, which is defined to mean that more than 50 percent of the international trade involved must be between the US and Mexico.  Trade means an international exchange of goods, services, or technology. 4.      Title of the trade items must pass from one party to the other. 5.      The applicant must be employed in a supervisory or executive capacity or possess highly specialized skills essential to the efficient operation of the firm.  Ordinary skilled or unskilled workers do not qualify. 6.      The applicant intends to depart the United States when the E-1 status ends. Basic Requirements: Treaty Investor (E-2) Visa for Mexican Nationals 1.      The investor, either an individual person or corporate person, must be a Mexican national. 2.      The applicant must have invested or be in the process of investing. 3.      The investor must have prior control of the funds being invested and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with assets of the investment enterprise are not considered “at risk”. 4.      The investment must be a real and operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar type of security are not considered an investment. 5.      The investment must be substantial.  It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise.  The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise. 6.      The investment must be more than marginal.  It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and his/her family or must have a direct significant economic impact in the United States. 7.      The applicant must be in a position to “develop and direct” the enterprise. 8.      If the applicant is not the principal investor, he/she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity.  Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify. 9.      The applicant intends to depart the United States when the E-2 status ends. Tab B (Required Forms) The DS-156E (parts 1, 2, and 3) is required for the principal applicant.  The confirmation page from a completed DS-160 form (with photograph attached) is required for each applicant.  Please do NOT print out the entire DS-160 application; only the confirmation page with the barcode is necessary. If you will be represented in this matter by an attorney, you must submit form G-28 "Notice of Entry of Appearance of Attorney as Representative" and should include contact e-mail address and phone number for the attorney.  If your representative is not an attorney, please submit a letter of agreement between the investor and the representative signed by both parties. If the applicant is not an investor but an employee, please include a job letter from the company.  This letter should describe: the business; the job the applicant will do; and his or her qualifications for that job. Tab C (Applicant Information) A photocopy of the bio data page of the principal applicant's passport and similar copies of any US visas, US entry/exit stamps, and I-94's. A copy of any changes or extensions of status granted by USCIS (Form I-797). Evidence of the applicant's ongoing residency in Mexico (including, as appropriate, a copy of the current lease or mortgage for the applicant's primary residence in Mexico; the applicant's most recent Mexican pay stub; the most recent school transcript for each child between the ages of 5 and 18 inclusive). A resume or curriculum vitae of the principal applicant. Signed statement of intent to depart the US upon termination of status. Tab D (Ownership) Articles of Incorporation (for corporations) or Organization (for LLC's) for US business. Share certificates and/or operating agreement (as applicable) to verify ownership. If you have a large company with several owners or subsidiaries or if the chain of ownership includes intermediary entities, please also submit the following: An organization chart of the full ownership structure; Legal evidence of instances of ownership within that chain; Photocopies of the bio data pages of the passports of the owners of the ultimate parent company. All of the above mentioned Tabs (A-D) should be submitted on the day of the interview with any E Application Packet.  The following Tabs depend on the type of E-visa the applicant wishes to apply:  For First Time E-1 Treaty Trader Visa Applicants Tab E (Trade) Provide a spreadsheet listing every qualifying transaction of international trade between the treaty countries during the last calendar year.  If there is substantial trade of small value items in one transaction, please list the overall value of the individual transaction.  If there is a US entity with separate legal status (such as an incorporated company or a LLC), all figures should refer to its trade.  Otherwise, consider the trade of the Mexican company.  This table should include the date, the invoice number, and the dollar value of the transaction.  Show in a prominent place the total number and value of these transactions. Provide copies of all the invoices summarized in the table. Provide copies of all air bills or shipping invoices proving that the goods or services moved from one country to the other. Calculate the percentage of international trade represented by the US-Mexican trade documented above.  This is not necessarily the percentage of total trade of the entity but the percentage of total international trade undertaken by the treaty investor business. Provide the most recent US tax returns (for a US entity).  US tax forms must be copies of the signed and dated forms actually submitted to the IRS.      For Renewal E-1 Treaty Trader Visa Applicants: Tab E (Trade) Provide a spreadsheet listing every qualifying transaction of international trade between the treaty countries during the last calendar year.  If there is substantial trade of small value items in one transaction, please list the overall value of the individual transaction.  If there is a US entity with separate legal status (such as an incorporated company or a LLC), all figures should refer to its trade.  Otherwise, consider the trade of the Mexican company.  This table should include the date, the invoice number, and the dollar value of the transaction.  Show in a prominent place the total number and value of these transactions. Provide copies of all the invoices summarized in the table. Provide copies of all air bills or shipping invoices proving that the goods or services moved from one country to the other. Calculate the percentage of international trade represented by the US-Mexican trade documented above.  This is not necessarily the percentage of total trade of the entity but the percentage of total international trade undertaken by the treaty investor business. Provide the most recent US tax returns (for a US entity).  US tax forms must be copies of the signed and dated forms actually submitted to the IRS.  Complete financial statements (balance sheets and Profit and Loss Statements) with qualifications prepared by an accounting firm (not the applicant’s internal accounting department) for the period after the prior E-visa was issued until the present year.   For First Time E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Applicants Tab E (Investment) A complete money trail of the funds invested, including: Documentation of the original source of the funds (sale of property, inheritance, loans, earnings, sale of business, etc.); Movement of these funds to a US account; Use of these funds for qualifying business expenses - please include invoices, cancelled checks, and bank statements showing matching debits (highlighted). If you are buying an existing business, please provide all of the following that apply in your case: A signed, dated, valid purchase agreement; A binding escrow agreement (see 9 FAM 41.51 N8.103 for guidelines) that explicitly says where the money goes if the visa is issued, what happens when it does not, and is signed and dated by all parties.  Please cross reference exactly any relevant purchase agreement; Signed, dated, valid lease for business premises, including evidence of payments; Evidence of any other funds spent to acquire and set up the business. If you are establishing a start-up, please provide all of the following that apply: Signed, dated, valid lease for business premises, including evidence of payments; Purchase of equipment and/or inventory. If you are purchasing a franchise, please provide: A signed and dated franchise agreement;Evidence of payment of the franchise fee. Investment spreadsheet.  Evidence of investment is required, e.g., copies of debits from bank accounts, checks, invoices. Tab F (Real and Operating) Relevant local, state, and/or federal licenses to confirm that business can operate upon visa issuance. Monthly bank statements for current calendar year for the business, and any prior years business was in operation. Tab G (Marginality) If the business is already in operation in the US provide US tax returns for business for up to the past three years.  Tax returns must include all statements and schedules.  These must be copies of the signed and dated forms actually submitted to the IRS. All W-2 and/or 1099s for the last tax year. Start-up Businesses should also provide: A business plan that analyzes the local market conditions and competition and gives a 5-year projection of profit and loss – (projections that are not backed up by external sources will be disregarded); A breakdown of start-up costs necessary for the business to become operational;Evidence of funds already invested.   For Renewal E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Applicants Tab E (Investment) If you operate the same business for which you were last approved, submit evidence of major new investment (if any) in the business. If you placed funds in escrow for the initial purchase of your business and this is your first renewal, submit all closing documents and direct evidence (cancelled checks and corresponding debits from bank statements) that the money was disbursed to the seller. If you took out a promissory note, submit proof of regular payments. If you no longer operate the business for which you were first approved, you must submit all the documents required of first-time investors related to the new business, and evidence that visa status was maintained if the prior business was sold before the new business began operation. If you have purchased any additional businesses, provide the purchase agreements and closing documents. Tab F (Real and Operating) Relevant local, state, and/or federal licenses to confirm that business can continue operating upon visa issuance. Monthly bank statements for the last twelve months for the business. Complete financial statements (balance sheets and Profit and Loss Statements) with qualifications prepared by an accounting firm (not the applicant’s internal accounting department) for the period after the prior E-visa was issued until the present year. Tab G (Marginality) US tax returns for business for each year since last issuance of the E-2 visa. Tax returns must include all statements and schedules.  These must be copies of the signed and dated forms actually submitted to the IRS. All W-2s and/or 1099s for the last tax year. Spouses and Dependent Children Spouses and dependent children (unmarried children under 21 years of age), regardless of nationality, may receive derivative E-visas to accompany the principal alien. Spouses may work, with a Department of Homeland Security employment authorization document.  Other dependents are not authorized to work in the US.  They are permitted to study. Fees and Interview During the interview, the applicant--as with all visa categories--has the burden of demonstrating eligibility for E-visa classification as a trader, investor or employee.  It is very important for the applicant to bring any additional information requested by the reviewing officer to the interview.  In addition, he/she must bring passports with a minimum of six months of remaining validity for the principal applicant and each family member applying, and a Banamex receipt showing the full visa application fee (currently the equivalent of $131 US) for each applicant, including children.  At the end of the interview, should the enterprise and the principal applicant qualify for E-visa issuance, the applicant must be prepared to pay the visa reciprocity fee of $100 US per person per year of visa validity. Children who have reached their 21st birthday cannot qualify for E-visa classification as dependents of the principal applicant.  Full validity (five-year) E-visas issued to dependent children over 16 years of age will only be valid until the 21st birthday of the dependent child.  If a dependent child has reached the age of 21 and is enrolled in a university, they must apply for an F1 visa to continue their studies.  Non-student dependent children over 21 must depart the United States if they are unable to qualify for another type of visa permitting them to remain in the United States.