1. E-1 Visa Application Questions of Hiring U.S. Employees, Invesment, and Existing Business You do not have to hire U.S. employees when applying for an E-1 visa. But hiring U.S. workers is always good, even for an E-1 visa application. Also, you do not have to make a substantial investment in the U.S. when applying for an E-1 visa. Investment would be required if you are applying for an E-2 visa. A service can be considered treaty trade for an E-1 visa application purposes. If you want to qualify for an E-1 visa as a treaty trader, the provision of services must be the purpose of your business, and must be the saleable commodity which you sell to the clients. The trade should already be in existence at the time you apply for an E-1 visa. However, the immigration regulations state that if you have evidence of successfully negotiated contracts that are binding upon the parties and call for immediate exchange of items of trade, you may still qualify for an E-1 visa. 2. For E-1 Visa Application, Should You Apply at a U.S. Consulate or Apply for a Change of Status with USCIS? If you are a national of a treaty country, and you want to come to the U.S. to engage in international trade between the U.S. and your home country, E-1 visa is a great option for you. It is often asked whether it is better to apply for an E-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate, or whether it is better to file an E-1 Change of Status application with USCIS. You can apply for E-1 visa in your home country, or in United States: If you are outside the U.S., you can submit the E-1 visa application to a U.S. Consular office in your home country.  If you are in a lawful status in the U.S., you can submit the E-1 status application as Change of Status to USCIS;  It is a generally advise that your should apply for an E-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate in your home country. The main reason for this is that the Change of Status with the USCIS inside the United States is not an E visa but an E status, and it does not allow you to reenter the United States if you leave it. Thus, you are restricted from re-entering the U.S., and if you leave, you have to go to a U.S. Consulate and reapply for the E visa. Another reason is that if you apply for an E-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate, you will most likely be granted the E-1 visa for the full visa validity period. But if you apply for a Change of Status with USCIS in U.S., you will be only granted the E-1 status for 2 years, and you will have to prepare a renewal application after the 2 years. This can incur extra legal fees and also extra USCIS filing fees. On the other hand, if you are in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa, you want to stay in the U.S. during the application process, and you are not planning to leave the U.S. in the next 2 years, Change of Status may be the right option for you. In addition, if your visa reciprocity is short, for example, if you are a national of Jordan, you would only get the E-1 visa stamp for 3 months, you may want to apply for a Change of Status inside United States. If USCIS approved your change of status application, you would be granted E-2 status for 2 years. 3. How Long Does My Company Have to Be Trading with the U.S. before I Can Apply for an E-1 Treaty Trader Visa? A common question is whether the applicant can apply for the E-1 visa to come to the U.S. to look for clients to facilitate international trade. While it may be possible to visit the U.S. on a B-1 business visitor visa for some initial business meetings, if the applicant wants to qualify for the E-1 treaty trader visa, the trade must already be in existence. Another common question is how long the trade must be in existence before the applicant can apply for the E-1 visa. Under the E-1 regulations, trade is considered to be in existence if the company or trader has binding contracts that require the immediate or imminent exchange of the trade items. This suggests that even if the trade items have not been shipped yet, an applicant can apply for an E-1 visa and show these binding contracts to prove that the trade already exists. However, in practice many U.S. Consulates expect to see that trade has been in existence for at least a year. A common request is for the E-1 applicant to provide a spreadsheet and supporting documentation showing all qualifying trade transactions for the last calendar year. If the applicant wants to submit the E-1 application before a year has passed or even before any trade items have shipped, they can arguably do so based on the language in the regulations, as long as they have binding contracts as proof of trade. 4. The Requirements and Qualifications for E-1 Visa Application The E-1 treaty trader visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows foreign nationals of a treaty nation to enter into the U.S. and carry out substantial trade. A treaty trader belongs to a nation that maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation or a bilateral agreement with the U.S. Trade includes commercial transactions in goods and trade in services and technology like banking, insurance, transportation, tourism, communications, data processing, advertising, accounting, design and engineering, management consulting, technology transfer and other measurable services which may be traded. The following are the requirements to qualify for E1 visa: • You are an executive, manager or specialist in a treaty nation company operating in the U.S., or you own 50 per cent of the company;   • The nationals of your country own at least 50 per cent of the stock of the company i.e. the firm has the nationality of the treaty country;   • You are a citizen of a treaty trade country, and are involved in international trade;   • You are the immediate family members of a principle E-1 visa holder.                                    On E-1 visa, you may: • Work legally in the U.S. for a U.S. company where more than 50 per cent of the business is trade between the U.S. and your home country;   •  Travel freely in and out of the U.S;   • Stay in the U.S. on a prolonged basis with unlimited two year extensions as long as you maintain E-1 qualifications;   • Bring your dependents along to the U.S. Your spouse can also work in the U.S. 5. How to Prove the International Trade between the U.S. and the Treaty Country For E-1 visa application, the evidence should be provideed to prove that: The trade is substantial; The trade is international; More than 50% of the volume of international trade is between the U.S. and a treaty country. The following is the evidence that could be submitted to prove the E-1 trade requirements: Invoices; The Company’s bank statements; Bank certified cashed checks or receipts showing costs of purchases or services; Purchase Orders; Inventory Data; Bills of Lading; DHS Customs receipts; Sales Contracts or Contracts for Services; Letters of Credit; Insurance papers documenting commodities imported into the U.S.; Accounts receivables and accounts payable ledgers; The Company’s federal income tax returns. Also, you should submit a spreadsheet listing every qualifying transaction of international trade between the treaty country and the United States for the past 1-3 years. You should check the instructions of the U.S. Consulate where you will be applying for the E-1 visa to see what exact information should be listed on the spreadsheet. For example, the U.S. Consulate in Toronto asks to list the date, the invoice number, and the dollar value of each transaction. The types of documents you will have to submit will differ depending on whether the items of trade are goods or services. For example, if you are manufacturing clothes in Canada, and then importing clothes to the U.S., you could submit Bills of Lading or DHS Customs Receipts to prove that the goods were imported in the U.S. to your U.S. customers. You should also check the website of the U.S. Consulate where you will be applying for the E-1 visa, and read the Consulate’s specific requirements, as some Consulates have preferred documentation they require to prove the trade. For example, the U.S. Consulate in Rome prefers the U.S. DHS bills of lading. 6. The Requirements of Changing to E-1 Status inside the United States The E-1 Treaty Trader Visa is available to foreign nationals who are citizens of treaty countries and who seek to enter the U.S. to facilitate international trade that exists between the U.S. and the Treaty Country. The trade must consist of an actual exchange of goods, money, or services.  1) The trade must be international, meaning there is international commercial trade happening between the treaty country and the United States. 2) Also, the trade must be substantial, meaning that there must be a continuous flow of numerous transactions over a period of time. A full list of E-1 visa requirements can be found here. You can change to E-1 status inside the United States: As the treaty trader, if you are currently in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status, you can file Form I-129 to request a change of status to E-1 classification.  If the desired employee is currently in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status, the qualifying employer may file Form I-129 on the employee’s behalf. A request for E-1 visa may not be made on Form I-129 if you are physically outside the United States. Interested you should apply for an E-1 nonimmigrant visa in your home country. Upon issuance of a E visa, you may seek admission at a United States port of entry as an E-1 nonimmigrant. 7. How to Change to E-1 Status inside U.S. with USCIS If you are currently in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa, such as B-1 business visitor visa, and you want to change your status to an E-1 status without leaving the U.S., you can do it by filing a Change of Status application with USCIS. To change your status in the U.S., you must meet the following requirements: You must have been lawfully admitted in the U.S.; You must be in a valid non-immigrant status; You are maintaining your non-immigrant status, which means that you did not violate conditions of your status; You would not be able to change your status if you are in United States on C, D, K visa, or if you enter on ESTA program. It usually takes USCIS a few months to adjudicate the Change of Status application. USCIS will then approve or deny the application, or it can also issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) for additional information. If USCIS approves your application, you will receive an I-797A Approval Notice, and this notice will be evidence of your legal status in the U.S. You will be granted the E-1 status for 2 years, not for the full E-1 visa validity period.  If you apply at a U.S. Consulate, you will most likely be granted the visa for 5 years, but if you apply for a Change of Status with USCIS, you will only be granted E-1 status for 2 years. If you apply for a Change of Status with USCIS and you leave the U.S., you will have to go to a U.S. Consulate, prepare a new E-1 petition and submit all supporting documentation to a U.S. Consulate. You cannot simply re-submit the application which you submitted to USCIS, as the Consulate will want to see updated evidence of the trade.

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