Now that you have set up your E-2 business enterprise in the U.S., you will need qualified staff members to run it. It is possible to bring workers from your home country to the US to work in your business, granting your employees an E-2 visa classification, as well.
However, certain rules dictate which workers can be employed in your business. To qualify for E-2 visa status, any foreign employee of an E-2 investor must:
- Be of the same treaty country nationality of the E-2 employer
- Be charged with performing duties of an executive or supervisory nature (to be employed in a lesser capacity, the employee must possess special qualifications)
- Meet the definition of “employee” under state and local laws
The USCIS is very strict about the roles foreign employees perform in an E-2 investment company. In most cases, E-2 employees are supervisors who have complete control over a major component of the business (or the entire operation itself). In cases where the employee is not an executive, she must have skills that make her essential to the efficient daily operation of the venture.
In order to determine if an employee has special skills, the USCIS may examine:
- The employee’s degree of expertise in the chosen field
- Whether other workers possess comparable skills at a similar level
- The salary requirements of the skilled worker
- Whether specific skills and qualifications are available in the US