E-1 Visa for Treaty Traders
E-visas are available to Treaty Traders (E-1 visa) of countries with treaties of commerce and navigation with the United States. Examples of countries with treaties with the U.S. include Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, and more. For a full list, click here.
Prior to entering the country, the treaty trader or investor must apply and have received the appropriate E-1 visa. If the individual is already in the United States, the U.S. Company can petition to change the individual's status to E-1 using Form I-129.
Who is the E-1 Visa for?
This is a nonimmigrant visa that allows a foreign national of a treaty country to enter the U.S. for the purpose of international trade. As a Treaty Trader, the visa holder must:
- Engage in a substantial trade in goods or services between the United States, and
- Hold citizenship in a qualifying treaty country
The E-1 visa is only for treaty traders and some employees of this type of individual or organization[1].
Below are a few examples of what constitutes as trade under E visa:
- International Banking
- Communications
- Transportation
- Tourism
Who Qualifies as a Treaty Trader?
You may qualify for an E-1 Visa if you are a citizen of a treaty country, such as Australia, Canada, China, and others. In order to be classified as a treaty trader, an individual or organization must carry on substantial and principal trade between their country and the United States. “Trade” here refers to the exchange of goods, services, banking, insurance, transportation, tourism, technology, and some news.
In order for that type of trade to be considered substantial, generally it must be continuous and sizeable. When considering who qualifies, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services gives greater weight to individuals and organizations that participate in numerous exchanges of greater value.
Trade qualifies as principal trade if more than 50% of the trade volume is between the United States and the applicant’s country.
If you are applying as an individual employee of a treaty trader, generally you must be of the same nationality and from the same country as the treaty trader organization, qualify as an employee, and engage in supervisory duties or have special qualifications.
A Reputation of Excellence Our Success
-
My journey started with Akula & Associates exactly 10 months ago. Came to know about them through a friend, casually called, impressed with their profile and signed up contract for services. Last 10 months we filed several cases and each case they treat like a completely new customer and examine each document thoroughly, advise and make us on top of the things. I truly say sincere THANKS for their great service. I truly love their staff. My paralegal Yezenia is awesome, attorney Toki is wonderful. Yet to work more with GC team, Shirin and Christie, great work experience so far. Last but not least Attorney Kavitha is Great!!! I hope I get the same level of service for me and employees for coming years!!! Good luck to Akula & Associates !!- Venkat C.
-
Thank you for all your help and patience with my H1B. You made a difficult time a little easier and less stressful, which I greatly appreciate. Ambreen was very helpful in our immigration process and her efforts and work helped us to achieve our most important goal, which is a future for ourselves and our child in the United States. It was a great experience to work with such a professional. We always felt that she was reachable either by e-mail or by phone. We were very impressed with her way of doing business and how she tracked and controlled every issue such that our immigration process went well. She was very responsive, constantly reviewing and checking for the documents needed to carry on the process. They handle the legal process in a professional way, and the treatment is friendly with the clients, which makes it easier and more enjoyable. They always follow up with all the steps throughout the process and kept me informed of the outcomes and further documents needed for the next steps, which made me stay one step ahead of the process to help ensure the desired outcome. Really glad to have her and Akula associates as my attorney in our successful visa applications. We look forward to working with her again for our future legal needs.- Priya
-
I want to thank all the Akula and Associates team that contribute with my immigration process. This process can be very stressful and confusing, but with your advice and support you make it very simple for me. I'm very pleased for the result of course but also with your professionalism and customer service, I never felt alone and you answered all my doubt very fast. Thank you and I wish you success and see you in a few years for my citizenship!- Jorge R.
-
It has been a pleasure to work with The Akula & Associates team. They have been very responsive and given us so much help working through a relatively new process for our company. They are now our go to company for employee immigration processing.- Karen B.
-
I have been filing cases with Akula & Associates since 2016 and since our first call with attorney Toki- when she heard what i said and accepted our first case; They have been gracious, competent and very patient in all process of immigarion-H1B, L1, TN, I140 etc. Thank you and your team for all your good work.- Sindhoora M.
-
Seasoned lawyers with a great ability to navigate all areas of immigration. First class service all round. Highly rate the professional expertise of Kate Brady in particular.- Martin G.
-
I am so glad and thankful that I chose AkulaI & Associates P.C for my N-400. I had such a great experience working with Attorney Katrina Moore, Toki Olowo and entire team. Both Katrina Moore and Toki Olowo are very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly and they always make sure that they put client in first place. I highly recommend Akula & Associates for any immigration related case.- Nirmal B.
-
Awesome service, excellent follow up, very quick and affordable, professional, prompt. Ansreen Aijaz Ali was my representative, highly satisfied with her response and service, will surely recommend.- Shahab Q.