E1 Visa

To qualify for the E1 visa you must be classified as a treaty trader, you can meet this classification if you:

• Are a national of one of the treaty countries
• Engage in substantial trade between your home country and the United States

You can also qualify for an E1 visa as the employee of a treaty trader if you meet certain requirements. To qualify as an employee you must:

• Be the same nationality of your treaty trader employer who meets the above requirements
• Meet the definition of “employee” under the relevant law
• Be carrying out the duties of an executive or supervisory role of if employed in a lesser capacity you must have a special qualification that makes your services essential to the operation of the treaty trader you work for

If you are applying as an employee and your treaty trader employer is not an individual then you can only be eligible if your employer is an enterprise or organization of which 50% is owned by people in the United States who have the nationality of a treaty country.

A treaty country is defined by the USCIS as a “country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation”.

Canada is classed as a treaty country, so as a national of Canada you can be eligible for the treaty trader visa. There are also many other treaty countries that are eligible for the E1 visa, they include the following:

One of the main requirements for the E1 Visa is that you must be engaged in international trade between the U.S and the designated treaty country, the type of trade that is eligible includes:

• Goods
• Services
• International banking
• Insurance
• Transportation
• Tourism
• Technology and its transfer
• Some news-gathering activities

To meet the requirements the trade must also be classed as “substantial”. The definition of a substantial amount of trade is vague, generally, it means that there must be a “continuous flow” of trade between the U.S and Canada (or the designated treaty country if applying as the national of another treaty country). As well as being substantial for a Canadian national to be eligible for the E1 visa they must be able to demonstrate that either themselves or the Canadian company they work for carries out principal trade between the United States and Canada. Principal trade is when over 50% of the international trade that the treaty trader carries out is between the United States and the treaty country.

When applying for an E1 visa you will need to prove to a consular officer that the trade is substantial. Consular officers will usually look at the volume of trade to determine whether it is substantial but they may also take the monetary value of trades into account.

To apply for your E1 Treaty Trader visa from Canada there are several steps that you will need to follow.

1. Gather all the required supporting documents for your application
2. Complete and submit the online non-immigrant visa application (Form DS-160) and print the confirmation page after submission.
3. Complete and submit Form DS-156E, this is the Treaty Trader Visa application form.
4. Go to the official nonimmigrant visa information and appointment website for the U.S. Embassy in Canada and create a profile. Pay the application fee and follow the step by step instructions on the website to book your appointment at a U.S Consulate in Canada.
5. Attend your visa interview at the U.S Consulate, you should bring your originals and copies of your supporting documents. During your interview, you may be asked some questions about why you intend to enter the U.S

Following your visa interview, a consular officer will decide whether to grant you an E1 Visa. You will normally receive a decision within 3-5 days after the interview, however, this time can vary. Your passport, visa and any documents that you submitted will be returned to you via the Canada Post Courier service.

When making an application for an E1 visa you will need to provide a number of documents as well as supporting evidence to prove that you meet the visa requirements. The documents you will need include:

• A copy of your passport – your passport must also be valid for at least 6 months beyond the period you intend to stay in the US for
• The confirmation page from your Form DS-160 submission
• Your Nonimmigrant Treaty Trader application form (Form DS-156E), this must be signed by an officer who is legally able to act on behalf of the company.
• Proof that you have paid the visa fee
• A recent passport-sized photograph
• A cover letter that demonstrates how you or you and the company your work for meet the requirements for being a treaty trader
• Supporting documents that demonstrate that you or the company you work for engages in a substantial amount of trade with the US
• Evidence that you intend to return to Canada after your visa runs out

Visa applicants who are applying as the employee of a treaty trader will also need to submit documents to prove that the company or employer they work for is a national from a treaty trader country as well as a letter from their employer that describes their role and how it is essential to international trade.