US E-2 Investor Visa: Treaty Country Nationality

The investor, whether an individual or a company, must be a national of one of the treaty countries that have signed a qualifying treaty with the United States. A company's nationality is determined by the nationality of its individual owners, not by where it is headquartered or registered.

If the investor is a foreign company, at least 50 percent of its owners must be nationals of the treaty country. If the company is owned by another company, ownership has to be traced back far enough to show that the 50 percent rule is met at the parent company level.

The country where the company was incorporated is irrelevant to the E-2 nationality requirement. However, where a company's shares are traded exclusively on a stock exchange in its country of incorporation, the company can be presumed to have the nationality of that exchange's country. For a multinational company whose shares trade in more than one country, the applicant must provide the best available evidence that the company meets the nationality requirement.

Unless a company is owned and controlled in equal shares (50/50) by nationals of two treaty countries, a company applying for E-2 status may have only one qualifying nationality. Owners with dual nationality must decide which nationality to use. The owners and all E-2 employees of the company must hold the nationality of that single qualifying country and treat themselves as its nationals for all E-2 purposes concerning the company, even if they also hold the nationality of another E-2 country. If a company is owned and controlled equally by nationals of two different treaty countries, employees of either nationality can obtain E-2 visas to work for it. Check whether your country qualifies in the list of treaty countries; the overview page on the E-2 investor visa explains all the other requirements, such as the size of the investment.