E-2 Employees: Managers, Supervisors and Essential Workers

An E-2 company can bring employees from abroad if they share the company’s treaty nationality and will fill an executive role, a supervisory role, or a role that needs skills essential to the business. Employees apply at a U.S. consulate with Form DS-160 and Form DS-156E, or, if already in the U.S. in another lawful status, through Form I-129 with USCIS.

Many investors assume the E-2 covers only themselves and their family. It also covers key staff. For companies expanding from abroad, this is often the fastest way to staff a U.S. operation with people who already know the business.

Who can sponsor E-2 employees?

Under 9 FAM 402.9-7(A), the employer must meet three conditions:

1. Nationality. The employer must have the treaty country’s nationality. For a company, that means at least 50% of the ownership is held by nationals of the treaty country.
2. Same nationality as the employee. The employer and the employee must share that nationality.
3. E status of the owner. If the treaty-national owner is living in the U.S., they must be maintaining E status.

Two consequences matter in practice. Shares owned by U.S. lawful permanent residents do not count toward treaty nationality, and a treaty national who holds a green card cannot bring in E employees. And the company itself must qualify as an E-2 enterprise: a real, operating, non-marginal business with a substantial investment. See E-2 ownership rules.

The same-nationality rule

A company’s E-2 nationality is the nationality of its owners. A company owned 60% by Japanese nationals and 40% by Americans is a Japanese E-2 enterprise. It can sponsor Japanese executives and essential employees, but not Korean or Canadian ones, even though Korea and Canada are treaty countries too.

The FAM adds two refinements. Dual-national owners must choose one nationality for the company, and all E employees must hold that same nationality. And when a company is owned and controlled 50/50 by nationals of two different treaty countries, employees of either nationality can qualify.

Three qualifying roles

Role	What the FAM looks at	Typical evidence	Long-term?
Executive	Directs the organization or a major part of it, wide decision-making authority, limited supervision	Org chart, job description, prior executive experience, pay level	Yes, as long as the company qualifies
Supervisor	Supervision is the principal function, not incidental; responsibility for a large part of operations	Org chart showing staff supervised, authority over personnel	Yes, as long as the company qualifies
Essential skills	Specialized skills the business needs, that the employee has proven	Training, certifications, experience, salary, availability of U.S. workers	Depends: some long-term, many start-up only

Executives and supervisors

Under 9 FAM 402.9-7(B), the officer considers the title, the position’s place in the organization, the duties, the degree of control over operations, the number and skill level of the people supervised, the pay, and the applicant’s prior experience. Titles carry weight only in context: “vice president” means something in a company with many employees and very little in a two-person office. A position that is mostly routine work with some supervision of junior staff does not qualify.

Essential-skills employees

This is the hardest category and the one most often refused. Under 9 FAM 402.9-7(C), the company and the applicant must prove both that the business needs a specialized skill set and that the applicant has it. Officers weigh:

• The experience and training needed to acquire the skills.
• How unique the skills are.
• Whether U.S. workers with these skills are available.
• The salary the expertise commands.
• The applicant’s proven expertise.
• The function of the job.

Ordinarily skilled workers can sometimes qualify, almost always for start-up or training purposes, when their value comes from knowing the overseas operation. Knowledge of a foreign language and culture alone is not enough, according to USCIS.

The applicant must also show how long the skills will be needed. Some needs are ongoing, such as continuous product development or quality control. Others are short-term, typically one or two years for a start-up, after which the company is expected to have trained U.S. staff. For USCIS extensions, 8 CFR 214.2(e) says start-up essential employees should generally complete their objectives within 2 years.

How to apply

At a consulate (DS-156E)

Every applicant completes a DS-160. Unlike the principal investor, whose E questions are integrated into the DS-160, an E-2 employee must also submit Form DS-156E, which the company completes about itself and the position. Spouses and children do not file DS-156E. The package usually includes a company letter describing the employee’s role, duties, experience and, for non-supervisory roles, why a U.S. worker cannot fill the position. See DS-156E explained.

Some consulates run E-visa company registration programs. Once a company has been found to qualify and is registered, later employee cases can focus on the employee, as long as the company has not had a substantive change. Follow the specific embassy’s instructions.

Inside the U.S. (Form I-129)

If the employee is already in the U.S. in lawful nonimmigrant status, the company can file Form I-129 to change their status to E-2, and later to extend it. Dependents file one Form I-539. Government fees are $1,015 (paper) / $965 (online) for the I-129 in the E classification ($510 for small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees), plus the $600 Asylum Program Fee ($300 for small employers), and $2,965 if you add premium processing. As with investors, a USCIS approval is status, not a visa; the employee needs a visa from a consulate to return after travel. See E-2 change of status.

English proficiency for commercial driving jobs

Executive Order 14286, signed April 28, 2025, directs agencies to make sure commercial vehicle operators are qualified and proficient in English. USCIS now requires that E-2 applications for jobs that involve operating a commercial motor vehicle include evidence of English proficiency, such as a passed standardized English exam or a signed statement of proficiency from the applicant. USCIS says it will generally accept E visas issued after June 15, 2026 for these positions as proof, because the State Department has increased screening of these applicants. If your business relies on drivers, plan for this in your staffing.

Where employees can work

An E-2 employee may work only for the sponsoring company, in the kind of role approved. USCIS allows work for the treaty organization’s parent company or a subsidiary in some cases, when the relationship was established and the duties stay executive, supervisory or essential. Changing to a new employer requires a new approval. See E-2 work rules.

Hiring U.S. workers

E-2 employees do not need a labor certification, and there is no rule that a set number of U.S. workers must be hired. But U.S. hiring matters in two ways. It is often the strongest evidence that the business is not marginal, which supports the investor’s own case and every employee case built on it. And for essential-skills roles, the availability of U.S. workers is one of the factors officers weigh. A credible plan to train U.S. staff helps start-up essential employee cases.

How investors use E-2 employees

• A trusted manager to run daily operations while the investor focuses on growth.
• Technical staff from the home-country company to set up production, equipment or systems.
• A supervisor for a second location.
• Trainers who build the U.S. team during the first one or two years.

E-2 employee vs L-1

For companies with an operating parent abroad, the L-1 intracompany transfer is the main alternative. L-1 does not require the same nationality and allows dual intent, but it requires a qualifying corporate relationship and at least one year of prior employment with the foreign company, and it always goes through a USCIS petition. When nationality matches and the business already qualifies for E-2, the E-2 employee route is often simpler. See E-2 vs L-1.

Next steps

When we build an E-2 company, we plan staffing from the start: which roles go to U.S. hires, which to E-2 employees, and how the organizational chart supports both. The business plan should show the roles before the first employee applies. Book a consultation to talk through the positions you need to fill.