Embassy of the United States Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Applying for E Visas

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides nonimmigrant visa status for a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.

Applicants for visas should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence.

Prior to applying for a visa, applicants should submit the following documents described below to the NIV Unit, Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras via courier.  Once the Embassy has received and reviewed the documents, the Embassy will contact the applicants directly to advise them to start the actual visa application process.  Processing E visas takes several weeks because the information and documents submitted with form DS-156E must be reviewed.

Supporting documents to Form DS-156E and how they should be submitted

Supporting documents should be submitted in a binder with a table of contents and tabs.  The following are examples of supporting documentation that should be attached to first-time applications (not every type of document is applicable in each case; the consular officer may request additional information if required):

• Evidence of possession and control of investment funds (bank records, financial statements, personally secured loans, savings, promissory notes, etc.).
• Evidence of remittance to the United States (bank drafts, transfers, exchange permits, receipts, etc.).
• Evidence of establishment of business in the United States (articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, organization and staffing charts, shares, titles, contracts, receipts, licenses, leases, etc.).
• Evidence of the nationality of the investors/traders and their percentage share of company ownership/holdings (passports, articles of incorporation of parent company, stock exchange listings, etc.).
• Evidence of trade between the United States and the treaty country (invoices, bills of lading, customs clearances, warehouse receipts, shipping receipts, sales receipts, contracts, etc.).
• Evidence of investment in the United States (titles, receipts, contracts, loans, bank statements, etc.).
• Evidence of substantiality (financial statements, audits, U.S. corporate or business tax returns, etc.).
• Evidence that the enterprise is not marginal (payroll records, IRS Form 941, personal tax returns, evidence of other personal assets and income).
• Evidence that the business is a real, operating enterprise (annual reports, catalogs, sales literature, news articles, federal and/or state corporate income tax returns, and other evidence as appropriate).
• Curriculum vitae of the proposed visa recipients under the business or enterprise (optional).

Each applicant for the E visa must pay a nonrefundable Consular fee of US$ 270 at any branch of Citi bank in Honduras, which should be included with all the other documentation and provide a passport with a minimum six-months' validity remaining.

If you need additional information about the requirements according to your nationality, please go to the Visa Waiver Program website.

Information about changes on visa processing fees.

Information about the Non-Immigrant Visa appointment service.

You must submit:

• The receipt for payment of the Consular fee.
• An application Form DS-156E (PDF 588KB).
• Application Form DS-160 in the electronic format.
• A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.  If you need additional information about the requirements according to your nationality, please go to the Visa Waiver Program website.
• A 2x2 photograph taken with a white background, no glasses.

Treaty Trader Visa (E-1)

• The applicant must be a national of a treaty country.
• The trading firm for which the applicant is coming to the U. S. must have the nationality of the treaty country.
• The international trade must be "substantial" in the sense that there is a sizable and continuing volume of trade.
• The trade must be principally between the U.S. and the treaty country, which is defined to mean that more than 50 percent of the international trade involved must be between the U.S. and the country of the applicant's nationality.
• Trade means the international exchange of goods, services, and technology.  Title of the trade items must pass from one party to the other.
• The applicant must be employed in a supervisory or executive capacity, or possess highly specialized skills essential to the efficient operation of the firm.  Ordinary skilled or unskilled workers do not qualify.
• The applicant must intend to depart the United States when the E-1 status terminates.

Treaty Investor Visa (E-2)

• The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country
• The investment must be substantial.  It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise.  The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise.
• The investment must be a real operating enterprise.  Speculative or idle investment does not qualify.  Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment.
• The investment may not be marginal.  It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States.
• The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense.  Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed.  If the funds are not subject to partial or total loss if business fortunes reverse, then the funds do not qualify as an investment.
• The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise.  If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity.  Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.
• The applicant must intend to depart the United States when the E-2 status terminates.

Presenting the following documentation is recommended:

• Evidence that the trading enterprise or investment enterprise meets the requirements of the law.
• Evidence that illustrates that the stay in the U.S. will be temporary.

Family Members

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age, regardless of nationality, may receive derivative E visas in order to accompany the principal alien.

Spouses are only allowed to work with permission from the Department of Homeland Security. Other dependents are not authorized to work in the United States.

Applying for E-Visas for Family Members Submit:

• The receipt for payment of the Consular fee for each applicant.
• Application Form DS-160 in the electronic format for each applicant.
• A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.  If you need additional information about the requirements according to your nationality, please go to the Visa Waiver Program website.
• A 2x2 photograph taken with a white background, no glasses.
• Proof of relationship with main applicant (spouses - marriage certificate, children - birth certificates).

Allowed Stay in the United States with E Visas

Holders of E visas may reside in the United States as long as they continue to maintain their status with the enterprise.

Entering the United States with an E Visa

Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States.  The U.S. Directorate of Border and Transportation Security in the Department of Homeland Security has authority to deny admission.  Also, the period for which the bearer of a treaty trader or investor visa is authorized to remain in the United States is determined by the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security, not the consular officer.  At the port of entry, a Directorate of Border and Transportation Security official validates Form I-94, Record of Arrival-Departure, which notes the length of stay permitted.  Those persons who wish to stay beyond the time indicated on their Form I-94 must contact the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security to request Form I-539, Application to Extend Status.  The decision to grant or deny a request for extension of stay is made solely by the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security.

Form DS-156E

This Form DS-156E (PDF 588KB), together with Form DS-160, Nonimmigrant Visa Application, constitutes the application for an E-1 Treaty Trader or E-2 Treaty Investor Nonimmigrant Visa.

All first-time applicants seeking Treaty Trader or Treaty Investor status must complete Parts I and II. Parts I and II must be updated periodically.  All individual applicants must complete Part III and Form DS-160.  You must answer all relevant questions.  Enter "Not applicable" where appropriate.  If an enterprise is not yet fully operational, estimates and projections should be made concerning potential income, job creation, volume of sales, etc.