The E-2 interview: the consular officer's questions and the answers in your file

The E-2 interview is neither an interrogation nor a formality. It is the conversation in which the consular officer checks whether the person in front of them matches the file they have read. Know the criteria, and you know what you will be asked.

Months of preparation lead up to a conversation that often lasts just a few minutes. No wonder many investors are more nervous before the E-2 interview than before any negotiation with a bank. The good news: the interview is not a guessing game. The consular officer works from a fixed list of criteria in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), the State Department's handbook. Know that list, and you know what you will be asked, and you can build your file so it has already answered every question.

This guide shows you when an interview is required, which forms you need, how the appointment works, which questions sit behind the criteria and what happens after the interview. The basics are in our guide to the E-2 investor visa, and an overview of the process is under Application process.

1When an interview is required

INA 222(h) generally requires an in-person interview for a nonimmigrant visa. The State Department narrowed the exceptions effective September 2, 2025: since then, all nonimmigrant visa applicants generally need an in-person interview with a consular officer, expressly including children under 14 and applicants over 79. The main exceptions are diplomats, certain government officials and the renewal of a full-validity B-1/B-2 visitor visa within twelve months of its expiration.

For the E-2, this means you, your spouse and your children appear in person, both for the first application and when renewing the visa at the consulate. And even where an exception applies, the officer can always require an interview in an individual case. How renewal and extension fit together is explained under Renewing a US visa without an interview and in our guide Extending the E-2.

You are free to choose where you interview. As a rule, you apply at the post in your country of residence, but the FAM allows applications outside your own consular district and prohibits a refusal on that ground alone. Our section on the US visa at the consulate covers the US posts.

2Before your appointment: forms and file

Every applicant, including spouses and children, completes Form DS-160 online. As the principal investor, you do not need the supplementary Form DS-156-E for treaty traders and investors: under the FAM, its questions for principal E-2 investors are built into the DS-160. Your family does not need it either. It is required for E-2 employees, meaning executives, managers and essential workers who come through your business. Our article Completing the DS-160 shows how the form is structured.

The application fee is $315 per person. On top of that, there may be an issuance fee, which the State Department sets by nationality on the principle of reciprocity. You submit the file itself according to your consulate's requirements; each post explains how and when on its website.

For the contents of the file, the FAM includes a suggested list organized by the criteria: nationality, ownership, investment, source of funds, marginality, real and operating enterprise and, for employees, the position. The list is expressly a guide, not a mandatory checklist. But the FAM does recommend organizing the documents with tabs and highlighting the key figures in financial statements and bank statements. Take that advice seriously: an officer who finds a number in three seconds is more likely to believe it.

3Interview day: how it works

On the day, you go through security first. Then your fingerprints are scanned digitally, part of the State Department's biometric requirements. After that comes the interview itself at the window.

The interview is usually shorter than your file is thick. The officer asks targeted questions about the points that matter to them and can request any further document they consider necessary, because under the FAM the burden of proof is on you. So bring originals and the key documents, even if you have already submitted them.

Your spouse and children attend with you. Under the FAM, they too must meet the requirements of their status. For them, the focus is on the marriage and the parent-child relationship. A certified certificate is not strictly required if the officer is otherwise convinced of the relationship, but you should bring one anyway.

At the end of the interview, the officer tells you what happens next. There are three possibilities: the visa is approved and printed in your passport. The application is initially refused under INA 221(g) because something is missing or further review is needed. Or it is refused under INA 214(b) or on another ground.

4The criteria behind the questions

For the E-2, the FAM gives the officer nine criteria. They must determine whether a treaty country exists, whether you and the business hold its nationality, whether you have invested or are actively in the process of investing, whether the business is real and operating, whether the investment is substantial, whether the business is more than marginal, whether you will develop and direct it, whether an employee holds an executive position or has essential skills, and whether you intend to leave the US when your status ends.

Most interview questions map to one of these criteria. There is no official list of questions, and every officer asks differently. But if you have a clear, documented answer for each criterion, you are prepared for almost any question. The table shows examples.

5Questions about you and your role

The E-2 requires you to come to the US to develop and direct the business. So the officer wants to know who you are. What is your education, your industry experience, your management experience? Why this particular business? An engineer building a technical consulting firm has an easier time here than someone opening a restaurant for the first time. Switching industries isn't impossible, though; it just needs a stronger explanation.

Control matters just as much. Without looking at your papers, you should be able to say what percentage you own, who the other owners are and what nationality they hold. Under the FAM, two equal partners count as having control; three or more equal partners do not. If you hold two citizenships, you need to be able to say which one you are applying under for the E-2. Everything on this is in Requirements for the US company.

If you are coming as an employee rather than as the investor, the focus shifts to your position: do you manage people, are you responsible for the company or a significant part of it, or do you have skills that aren't available locally? A letter from the company describing your role and an org chart are the key evidence here. More under Foreign employees.

6Questions about the money

When it comes to money, the officer wants to understand three things. First, the amount relative to the cost of the business. There is no fixed minimum; the FAM measures the investment with a proportionality test. So you should be able to say what a business like yours costs and what share of it you have put in. The benchmark is explained in the guide to the investment amount.

Second, risk. The money must be committed and at risk. An account holding unspent capital isn't enough. That's why the officer asks what you spent the money on: rent, equipment, inventory, staff, purchase price. If you are buying a business on condition of the visa, an escrow account shows that you are committed. How this works for acquisitions and franchises is explained in the guide Start, buy or franchise a business.

Third, the source. Where does the money come from, and how did it get into the US account? Savings, inheritances, gifts, sale proceeds and loans secured by your personal assets can count; loans secured by the business itself cannot. The chain from source to business account should be fully documented. More in the guide to the source of funds.

7Questions about the business, the future and departure

The business has to be more than a way to support your family. The FAM requires the capacity to make a significant economic contribution now or, as a rule, within five years of starting operations. In the interview, that sounds like this: Who will you hire, when and at what salary? Who are your customers? What sets you apart from the competition? Your answers have to match your business plan. If you quote different figures in the interview than in the plan, doubt creeps in. So read your plan again before the appointment. What belongs in it is covered in our article on the E-2 business plan.

The last question catches many people off guard: What will you do when your E-2 status ends? The E-2 is a visa for a temporary stay, and you must intend to leave the US when it ends. The FAM is generous here: you don't have to keep a home in your home country or name a fixed timeframe. You can sell your house and bring your belongings. As a rule, a clear statement that you will leave when your status ends is enough. It's different if a green card petition has already been filed for you: then you have to convince the officer that you still intend to leave at the end of your stay. What the later path to a green card can look like is shown in the guide From E-2 to green card.

Questions about your family are usually short. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 accompany you on the E-2. Your spouse may work in the US; border officials note this on their I-94 with the code E-2S. Children receive the code E-2Y and may not work. More under Spouse and children.

8After the interview

If the visa is approved, you get your passport back with the visa in it. Its validity depends on the State Department's reciprocity schedule for your nationality: for German and Austrian citizens, for example, up to 60 months, for Swiss citizens up to 48 months, each with unlimited entries. Swiss citizens pay an issuance fee of $125 for this; Germans and Austrians pay none. Each time you enter, border officials grant you a stay of up to two years. How validity, stay and extension fit together is explained in the guide Extending your E-2.

If the officer refuses under INA 221(g), something is missing. If you submit it within a year, you need neither a new DS-160 nor a new application fee. If the refusal is under INA 214(b), there is no appeal, but you can reapply at any time. What to do next is covered in the guide E-2 refused. How long each route takes is shown in the guide to E-2 processing times.

One last piece of advice for your preparation: practice the interview, but don't memorize answers. The officer can tell whether you're talking about your business or reciting a script. Talk about your business the way you would with a business partner: concretely, with numbers you know, and honestly where something is still open. If you have a company at home that can transfer you, look at the L-1 first as the faster route.

In short

• Since 2 September 2025, all nonimmigrant visa applicants generally need an in-person interview, including children and older applicants; there is no exception for the E-2.
• Every applicant completes the DS-160. Only E-2 employees need the DS-156-E, not the principal investor and not family members.
• The questions follow the FAM's nine review criteria: nationality, ownership, investment, real and operating business, substantial amount, more than marginal, your role, where applicable an employee's position, and intent to depart.
• For the E-2, a clear statement is usually enough to show intent to depart. You don't have to keep a home in your home country.
• The outcome is a visa, a refusal under 221(g) with a request for more documents, or a refusal under 214(b).

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