E-2 Treaty Investors

The E-2 classification is authorized for a national of a country with which the United States has a commercial treaty, who is coming to the United States solely to direct and develop the operations of an enterprise in which he or she has invested, or is actively involved in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital.

If the foreign national is inside the U.S., the I-129 should be used to apply for a change of status, extension of stay, or change of employment. This category does not require a petition for employment if the foreign national is outside of the U.S. In that case, the foreign national applies for this category on his or her own behalf directly at a U.S. consular office abroad.

The investment involved must place lawfully acquired, owned, and controlled capital at commercial risk with a profit objective, and be subject to loss if the investment fails.

Treaty Investors E-2 – List of Countries with E-2 Treaties

The United States has treaties with over 60 countries which permit nationals of those countries to invest a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise in the U.S, or to be employed as an executive, supervisor or essential employee in an enterprise which is owned by a treaty national.

These countries are as follows:

The following thirteen (13) treaties have yet to enter into force, either because the treaties have not yet been ratified or because there has not been a formal exchange of instruments of ratification: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Croatia, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Lithuania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Russia and Uzbekistan.