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Explore visasI-129 / DS-160Full guide

E-1Treaty trader

For nationals of treaty countries, including Taiwan, who come to the U.S. to carry on substantial trade mainly between the U.S. and their own country, plus their key employees, spouses and children.

At a glance

How you apply
Outside the U.S.: apply for an E-1 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate (Forms DS-160 and DS-156-E; spouses and children need only the DS-160), then seek admission at a U.S. port of entry. Already in the U.S. in lawful nonimmigrant status: Form I-129 filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to change status (for an employee, the employer files)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
How long you can stay
Up to 2 years at a time. Extensions may be granted in steps of up to 2 years, with no set limit on how many, as long as you keep the intention to leave when your status ends. Employees with special qualifications who handle start-up operations generally cannot extend
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,3]
Can you work
Yes, but only in the activity approved for you and only for the treaty-qualifying company through which you got E-1 status. An E-1 employee may also work for that company's parent or a subsidiary under set conditions
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,4]
Can family come
Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21, of any nationality, may apply for E-1 dependent status. Your spouse may work (I-94 marked E-1S); children (admission code E-1Y) are not authorized to work. Families of employees of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) or a Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) follow a separate rule: they need a work permit to work
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2,5]
Taiwan
Taiwan is an E-1 treaty country: the State Department's list shows "China (Taiwan)" for E-1, in force since Nov. 30, 1948
Checked Oct 18, 2026[2]
Main fees
At a consulate: $315 E visa application fee per person, plus any reciprocity issuance fee. Form I-129 with USCIS: $1,015 paper / $965 online ($510 for small employers and nonprofits), plus the Asylum Program Fee; optional premium processing $2,965
Checked Oct 18, 2026[6,7,8]

What E-1 is

E-1 lets a national of a treaty country be admitted to the United States solely to engage in international trade on their own behalf. Certain employees of such a trader, or of a qualifying organization, may also be eligible for E-1, and spouses and children may apply for E-1 as dependents.[1]

The official classification symbol is E1, "Treaty Trader, Spouse or Child," under section 101(a)(15)(E)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). E-1 rests on trade. Its sibling E-2 (treaty investor) is for someone who has invested, or is actively investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide U.S. enterprise and is coming solely to develop and direct it.[3,10]

Trade is not limited to goods. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(9), items of trade include, among others, goods, services, international banking, insurance, monies, transportation, communications, data processing, advertising, accounting, design and engineering, management consulting, tourism, technology and its transfer, and some news-gathering activities.[3]

Who qualifies as a treaty trader

To qualify as an E-1 treaty trader:

  • You are a national of a treaty country. An individual's nationality is decided by the authorities of that country. A company's nationality follows its owners, traced as far as practicable to the individuals who ultimately own it; the country where it is incorporated does not decide it.[2,3]
  • The trade already exists. Trade means an existing international exchange of items of trade for consideration between the U.S. and the treaty country. The exchange must be traceable and identifiable, and title to the item must pass from one treaty party to the other. Successfully negotiated contracts that bind the parties and call for the immediate exchange of items of trade count as existing trade.[3]
  • The trade is substantial: enough to keep a continuous flow of trade items between the U.S. and the treaty country, which means numerous transactions over time. There is no minimum value or volume for each transaction. Value matters, but more numerous exchanges of larger value carry more weight. For a smaller business, income from numerous transactions that is enough to support you and your family counts in your favor.[1,3]
  • The trade is principally between the U.S. and your treaty country: over 50 percent of the volume of your international trade must be between the two. The rest may be international trade with other countries or domestic trade.[2,3]
  • You are coming solely to carry on this trade. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) reads "solely" as closer to "principally" or "mostly": substantial trade must be the main reason for your travel, but a secondary or coincidental purpose does not by itself rule you out.[2,3]
  • You intend to leave the U.S. when your E-1 status ends. You do not have to keep a home abroad; the FAM says an unequivocal intent to depart when E status ends is normally sufficient.[2,3]

E-1 employees

An employee of a treaty trader may also be classified E-1 if the employee has the same nationality as the employer, intends to leave when E-1 status ends, and will do executive or supervisory work or, in a lesser role, has special qualifications that make the services essential to the efficient operation of the enterprise. The employer must be either a treaty-country national who is maintaining treaty trader status in the U.S. (or, if not in the U.S., would qualify as a treaty trader), or an organization at least 50 percent owned by such people.[3,11]

Traders and owners who hold a U.S. green card are treated differently. A trader with treaty nationality who is a U.S. lawful permanent resident cannot bring in employees under E-1, and shares owned by U.S. permanent residents are not counted when deciding the company's nationality.[2]

Executive or supervisory work must be the principal and primary function of the job, not an incidental one. It gives the employee ultimate control and responsibility for the enterprise's overall operation or a major component of it. A supervisory position covers a significant proportion of the operations and does not generally involve directly supervising low-level employees.[3,11]

Special qualifications are judged on all the facts, for example your proven expertise, whether others have the skill, how long you have trained or worked with the enterprise, the salary the skill commands, and whether such skills are readily available in the U.S. Knowledge of a foreign language and culture does not by itself qualify. With limited exceptions, employees with special qualifications who are responsible for start-up operations are presumed able to complete their objectives within 2 years, so, absent special circumstances, they are not eligible for an extension of stay.[3]

Documents

Evidence the Form I-129 instructions ask for when you file for E-1 inside the U.S.:

  • Ownership and nationality of the treaty trader, for example lists of investors with their current status and nationality, stock certificates, a certificate of ownership issued by the commercial section of a foreign embassy, and reports from a certified personal accountant.[12]
  • Substantial trade: evidence may include copies of three or more of the following: bills of lading, customs receipts, letters of credit, trade brochures, purchase orders, insurance papers documenting commodities imported, carrier inventories and sales contracts, or other documents that establish the substantial trade.[12]
  • For E-1 employees only: proof of executive or supervisory duties or of special qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas or transcripts, letters from employers describing job titles and duties, operators' manuals, and the required level of education and knowledge.[12]

For a visa application at a consulate, the State Department publishes a suggested E-1/E-2 document checklist. It is a guide only, not a list of required documents. For trade, it lists items such as purchase orders, bills of lading, sales or service contracts, letters of credit, accounts receivable and payable ledgers, and client lists. The burden of proving eligibility is on you, and if your qualification is uncertain, the consular officer may ask for whatever documents are needed.[2]

Applying for an E-1 visa at a consulate

  1. Forms

    Every E-1 applicant completes Form DS-160. Principal applicants, whether the trader or an employee, also submit Form DS-156-E; spouses and children do not.[2]

  2. Fee

    The application fee for an E category visa is $315 per person. A visa issuance (reciprocity) fee may also be charged, set on a reciprocal basis. A spouse or child who is a treaty-country national follows the reciprocity schedule for their own nationality; one from a non-treaty country follows the principal applicant's.[2,6]

  3. Review

    The consular officer decides whether the treaty exists; whether you (and the business) have the treaty nationality; whether the activity is trade; whether you are coming solely to carry on substantial trade; whether the trade is principally with your treaty country; if you are an employee, whether you are headed to an executive or supervisory position or have skills essential to the firm's U.S. operations; and whether you intend to leave when E-1 status ends.[2]

  4. Entry

    With the visa, you seek admission at a U.S. port of entry. You may be admitted for an initial period of up to 2 years. Unless the regulations provide otherwise, an E admission cannot extend more than 6 months beyond your passport's expiration date.[1,3]

Changing to E-1 inside the U.S.

If you are already in the U.S. in lawful nonimmigrant status, you can file Form I-129 to request a change to E-1; for an employee, the qualifying employer files it. You must keep your lawful status to remain eligible. You cannot request E-1 on Form I-129 while you are physically outside the U.S. Premium processing is available for this Form I-129: USCIS issues an approval, a denial, a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny within 15 business days.[1,8,12]

Stay, extensions and travel

You are admitted for up to 2 years at a time. To stay longer inside the U.S., an extension is requested on Form I-129, and extensions may be granted in increments of up to 2 years each. There is no set limit on the number of extensions (except for the start-up employees noted above), but you must keep the intention to leave when your status expires or ends.[1,3,13]

To get an extension, you must show that you kept the terms and conditions of E-1 status at all times, that you were physically in the U.S. when you filed, and that you have not abandoned the request. If you travel abroad and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer finds you admissible, you may generally be granted a new 2-year period when you come back.[1,3]

You may be admitted up to 10 days before your validity period begins and stay up to 10 days after it ends, but unless otherwise authorized you may not work during those days. If your E-1 work stops, you are not considered out of status for that reason alone for up to 60 consecutive days, or until your validity period ends if that is sooner, once per validity period. You may not work during that time unless otherwise authorized, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may shorten or eliminate the period. During either period you may apply for an extension of stay or a change of status if you are otherwise eligible.[13]

If your authorized stay expires while a timely filed extension is pending, you may keep working for the same employer for up to 240 days from the expiration date. If USCIS denies the extension before then, that permission ends when you are notified of the denial.[4]

Work limits and business changes

You may work only in the activity approved when E-1 was granted, and only for the treaty-qualifying company through which you got the status. An E-1 employee may also work for the treaty organization's parent or any of its subsidiaries without this counting as a substantive change if, when E-1 status was decided, the evidence established where the work will be done, the parent-subsidiary relationship and that the subsidiary itself qualifies as a treaty enterprise; that the work requires executive, supervisory or essential skills; and that the work is consistent with the terms and conditions of the activity your classification is based on.[1,3,4]

USCIS must approve any substantive change in the terms or conditions of E-1 status. A substantive change is a fundamental change in the employer's basic characteristics that would affect your eligibility for E classification, such as a merger, an acquisition, the sale of the division where you work, or another event that affects your approved relationship with the treaty enterprise. To keep you in E-1 status, the trader or company files a new Form I-129 with fee and evidence that you still qualify (and may ask for an extension at the same time), or you get a new visa that reflects the new terms and then apply for admission. If you go through USCIS, you may not start the new employment until the application is approved.[1,3]

Non-substantive changes need no new Form I-129. If you are unsure whether a change is substantive, the trader or company can ask USCIS for advice by filing Form I-129 with fee and a complete description of the change. Changing to a new employer without authorization is a failure to maintain status.[1,3]

Spouse and children

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may come with you or join you later, and their nationality need not match yours. If approved, they generally get the same period of stay as you.[1]

A spouse in valid E-1 (E-1S) status is authorized to work incident to that status. An unexpired I-94 marked E-1S, a code USCIS and CBP began issuing on January 30, 2022, is acceptable proof of work authorization under List C of Form I-9. An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is not required, but your spouse may file Form I-765 with fee to get one. Spouses of TECRO and TECO employees are the exception (see below).[1,14]

Children receive the admission code E-1Y, which does not allow them to work (TECRO and TECO families follow their own rule; see below). Family members already in the U.S. who are changing to or extending E-1 dependent status can apply together on a single Form I-539 with fee. When the principal is changing to E-1 inside the U.S., the spouse and children file their change-of-status applications at the same time, and these can be approved only if the principal is granted E-1 status and keeps it.[1,2,3]

Taiwan: TECRO and TECO employees

Fees

Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26, and 22 CFR 22.1 (eCFR as of Oct. 1, 2026). Check the current schedule before paying.
ItemAmountWhen it applies
E visa application fee (consulate)$315 per personEach visa application at a U.S. embassy or consulate; a reciprocity issuance fee may be added
Form I-129 (E-1), paper$1,015Change of status, extension or change of terms filed with USCIS
Form I-129 (E-1), online$965Same filing, submitted online
Form I-129, small employer or nonprofit$510Filer with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the U.S. (counting affiliates and subsidiaries), or a nonprofit
Asylum Program Fee$600 / $300 / $0Added to the I-129: regular petitioner / small employer / nonprofit
Form I-907 premium processing$2,965Optional, Form I-129 only; paid in addition to all other fees
Form I-539 for spouse and children$470 paper / $420 onlineFamily members changing or extending status in the U.S.
Form I-765 (optional EAD for a spouse)$520 paper / $470 onlineGeneral filing fee; $0 for Taiwanese dependents of TECRO E-1 employees
Checked Oct 18, 2026[6,7,8,15]

A filing with the wrong fee is rejected, so check the current Form G-1055 before you pay.[7]

E-1 and a green card

E-1 is a temporary (nonimmigrant) status, and you must keep the intention to leave when it ends. Still, an approved labor certification, or a filed or approved immigrant visa preference petition, cannot by itself be the reason an E admission, change of status or extension is denied.[3]

At a consulate, an applicant who is the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition must satisfy the officer that they intend to leave at the end of the authorized stay, and not stay to adjust status or otherwise remain in the U.S.[2]

Common mistakes

  • Relying on one large contract. Treaty trader status cannot be established or kept on the basis of a single transaction, however long or valuable it is.[3]
  • Applying before the trade has started. E-1 is not for searching for a trading relationship; trade with the treaty country must already be in progress.[2]
  • Counting sales inside the U.S. as E-1 trade. Domestic trade, or developing a domestic market without international exchange, is not trade for E-1 purposes.[3]
  • Treating money sent home as trade. Placing the proceeds of services performed in the U.S. in a bank account in the treaty country does not necessarily show a meaningful exchange if the money does not support any business activity there.[2]
  • Relying on a job title. In a small two-person office, a title such as "vice president" or "manager" means little by itself; the officer also weighs the duties, the position's place in the organization, and the number and skill levels of the employees supervised.[2]

Processing time (Form I-129)

This covers USCIS processing of Form I-129 only, not visa appointments or decisions at a consulate.

USCIS published processing time

Official

Median from USCIS's quarterly report

  • I-129 · FY2026 Q3 · all offices9.5 months

    All I-129 categories combined; the report does not split I-129 by category.

Half of the cases USCIS completed in that quarter took this long or less, from receipt to decision. Half took longer. The report does not say whether premium-processing cases are included. It is a different measure from the processing-times tool, so the two are not compared.

For the current figure for your form and office, check USCIS directly: USCIS processing times

Official

Source: All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types (Fiscal Year 2026, Quarter 3) · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026

Recent policy changes

Recent policy changes

Official

Updates

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Answers come from our sourced database and your own timeline, sorted into fact, public data, inference and unknown. No AI model is used in this version, so questions outside what we cover get an honest "not covered".

Questions people ask

Is there a minimum amount of trade for E-1?

No minimum is set for the value or volume of each transaction. What counts is a continuous flow of trade with numerous transactions over time; a single transaction is not enough, however long or valuable. Greater weight goes to more numerous exchanges of larger value.[3]

Can a service business qualify?

Yes, services are items of trade. For a service to count, providing it must be the purpose of the business and must itself be the commodity the business sells to clients, and the service must still be exchanged for consideration between the U.S. and the treaty country. The FAM gives international banking, insurance, transportation, tourism and communications as examples, and says news-gathering applicants should usually be classified under the I (foreign media) category instead.[2,3]

Does the country where my company is incorporated decide its nationality?

No. For E visas, a business has the nationality of its individual owners, and the country of incorporation is irrelevant. If a business is owned by another business, each layer of ownership is reviewed. One exception: a corporation whose shares trade only on a stock exchange in its country of incorporation can be presumed to have the nationality of that exchange's location.[2]

I hold two nationalities. Which one counts?

A business seeking E status may have only one qualifying nationality, so dual-national owners must choose one. The owner and all E employees of that company must then have that nationality and hold themselves out as its nationals for all E purposes involving the company. The exception is a business owned and controlled equally (50/50) by nationals of two treaty countries: employees of either nationality may get E visas to work for it.[2]

Do I need a physical office?

Not necessarily. The FAM says a physical office is not a requirement for an E visa, although having one may be relevant when deciding whether the requirements are met.[2]

Related categories

Content last reviewed: Oct 18, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. 1.E-1 Treaty Traders - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  2. 2.9 FAM 402.9 - Treaty Traders, Investors, and Specialty Occupations (E visas)U.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  3. 3.8 CFR 214.2(e) - Treaty traders and investorseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  4. 4.8 CFR 274a.12 - Classes of aliens authorized to accept employmenteCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  5. 5.9 FAM 402.3 - Foreign government officials (incl. 402.3-5(I) AIT and TECRO)U.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  6. 6.22 CFR 22.1 - Schedule of fees for consular services (Department of State)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  7. 7.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  8. 8.8 CFR 106.4 - Premium processing serviceeCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  9. 9.How Do I Request Premium Processing? - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  10. 10.22 CFR 41.12eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  11. 11.22 CFR 41.51eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  12. 12.Instructions for Form I-129 (edition 09/09/26)USCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  13. 13.8 CFR 214.1 - Requirements for admission, extension, and maintenance of statuseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  14. 14.8 U.S.C. 1184 (INA 214) - Admission of nonimmigrantsU.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  15. 15.8 CFR 106.1 - Fee requirements (definitions)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 12, 2026