Treaty Investor E-2

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Procedures for Initial Registration of a Company – or – Renewal of the Registration of a Company with fewer than 25 permanent employees

If you are an applicant from a treaty country, the enterprise itself possesses treaty country nationality, and you or the enterprise’s owner has invested or is actively in the process of investing in the US, you may qualify for an E-2 visa. 9 FAM 402.9-6(B). The enterprise must be real and operating. See 9 FAM 402.9-6(C) and the investment must be substantial. See 9 FAM 402.9-6(D).

If you believe you qualify for an E-2 visa, you must first register and pay the application fee(s) through our visa service provider, CGI Federal.

Follow the instructions and submit your application by mail.  After your application has been received and processed, you will be contacted to schedule an interview.

Required Format for E-2 Visa Applications

As of August 1, 2015, the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt will not be accepting E-visa applications exceeding 90 pages (maximum). These pages may not be double-sided or include several miniature pages pasted on one page.

Please adhere to the following format in submitting your application. Applications not complying with the format below may not be accepted by the E-visa Unit.  For specific examples of documentation that could satisfy many of the elements below, please see 9 FAM 402.9-11.

Tab 1a
Tab 1b
  • A fully completed Form DS-156E  on behalf of the principal applicant with Form G-28 (if represented by an attorney) signed by applicant/company representative.
Tab 1c Cover letter describing company, position and beneficiary. This letter must address all requirements for E-visa eligibility as defined by the Foreign Affairs Manual and U.S. law. It should address the following in detail:

  • that the investor has invested or is actively in the process of investing, as per 9 FAM 402.9-6(B);
  • that the enterprise is currently running or will imminently open its doors, 9 FAM 402.9-6(C);
  • that the investment is substantial, 9 FAM 402.9-6(D);
  • that the investment is more than a marginal one solely for earning a living, 9 FAM 402.9-6(E);
  • that the applicant will fill an executive/supervisory role or possesses skills that are essential to the firm’s effective operation, 9 FAM 402.9-7(A)

If the company has previously qualified for E-visa status, please include the date and location of the initial qualification. Also, please include a paragraph concerning the applicant’s unequivocal intent to depart U.S. when E-status ends.
Tab 2a

Business plan including a five-year forecast in a Profit/Loss format (one page), tax returns for the past 2 years (if an existing company) and a year-to-date profit/loss statement.

The plan must verify the capacity of the enterprise to realize a profit within a maximum of five years.  **This is only a requirement for newly created enterprises or those in existence for 2 years or less.  **
Tab 2b

Proof of treaty country ownership and controlling interest in the enterprise.

  • At least 50% of the ultimate owners must be citizens of the treaty nation as evidenced by: Certificates of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation/Formation/Organization, Stock ledger, plus other documents to establish ownership including Commercial Register, list of shareholders, and copies of owners’ national IDs. If the foreign parent company is owned by other entities, please provide these documents for each company in the ownership chain.
  • In the case of publicly-traded companies, the Consular Officer may presume that the nationality of the corporation is that of the location of the exchange where the company’s stock is exclusively traded. The applicant must provide evidence to support the presumption that citizens of the treaty nation most likely hold the ownership of the firm (e.g. Report of investors per region).

Note: A permanent resident alien does not qualify to bring in employees under INA 101(a)(15)(E). Moreover, shares of a corporation or other business organization owned by permanent resident aliens cannot be considered in determining majority ownership by nationals of the treaty country to qualify the company for bringing in alien employees under INA 101(a)(15)(E).
Tab 2c Demonstrate the applicant has invested or is in the process of investing. See 9 9 FAM 402.9-6(B). The applicant must demonstrate that the enterprise is a real and operating commercial enterprise, and not a passive investment.
Tab 3a Evidence that investment is substantial as defined by 9 FAM 402.9-6(D).  Any evidence of employment should only consider employees on payroll.
Tab 3b Evidence that the enterprise is more than marginal as defined by 9 FAM 402.9-6(E). An applicant is ineligible for E-2 status if the investment in the United States will only return enough income to provide a living for the applicant and his or her family.  Outside sources of income do NOT count.
Tab 4 Applicant’s resume and, if an essential employee, evidence that employee has essential skills that the enterprise urgently needs, as well as the projected duration of this essentiality. Please include an organizational chart showing the line-management relationship. You may also wish to explain why the enterprise was unable to find a qualified U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident to fill the position.

 

Submission

Companies applying for Initial Registration or Renewal of the Registration must simultaneously submit a paper application and an additional PDF copy of the paper version.

Original paper application not exceeding 90 pages please mail to:

U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt
NIV SECTION
ATTENTION: E-VISA UNIT
Gießener Straße 30
60435 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Scanned copy of the paper application as PDF file not exceeding 5 MB per e-mail to:

FrankfurtVisaInquiries@state.gov

Email subject must specify company, applicant’s name, and Att: E-Visa Team

 

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