A national of a treaty country (one with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been designated a qualifying country by law) may enter the country solely for the purpose of conducting international business on their own behalf under the E-1 nonimmigrant classification. It’s also possible that some workers for that person or for a qualifying company qualify for this categorization.

Who Can Request a Status Change to E-1 Classification?

The treaty trader may submit Form I-129 to request a change of status to E-1 classification if they are currently lawfully present in the country as a nonimmigrant. The qualified employer may submit Form I-129 on the employee’s behalf if the prospective employee is already present in the country in a legal nonimmigrant status.

General Requirements for Treaty Traders

To be eligible for E-1 categorization, the treaty merchant must:

– being a citizen of a nation with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, an international agreement meeting certain criteria, or which has been designated as such by law;

• the treaty trader must engage in significant trade with and major trade with the United States in order to be classified as an E-1 treaty trader.
• Carry on substantial trade

General Requirements for Treaty Trader Employees

A treaty trader’s employee must meet the following requirements in order to be classified as E-1:

-possess the same nationality as the primary employer who is not a citizen (who must have the nationality of the treaty country)

-meet the criteria for “employee” as defined by applicable legislation

-either be doing executive or supervisory-level tasks, or, if working in a less-important capacity, possess specific skills that make their contributions vital to the smooth operation of the treaty enterprise.

Length of Stay

A maximum initial stay of two years will be permitted for qualified treaty traders and workers. Requests for up to two-year extensions of stay or status adjustments to the E-1 classification may be approved. The number of extensions that an E-1 nonimmigrant may receive is unrestricted. However, all E-1 nonimmigrants must continue to intend to leave the country after their status expires or is cancelled.

If a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer finds that an E-1 nonimmigrant is acceptable, they will typically award them an automatic two-year period of readmission upon their return to the country.

Alternative options

People who are thinking about requesting a B-1 visa may also investigate:

Treaty Investor, E-2 (if you have significant funds to invest, and the treaty investor option also applies to the treaty country).

For transfers inside the same organization, you can also consider L-1.