E-2 Executive and Supervisory Employee Requirements

9 FAM 402.9-7(B) directs officers to examine title, organizational placement, duties, degree of ultimate control and responsibility, staff supervised, pay, and qualifying experience.

The weight of individual factors varies with the facts of the enterprise.

Current 9 FAM 402.9-7(B) directs officers to evaluate an E-2 executive or supervisory employee through multiple factors rather than a job title alone. Relevant considerations include the proposed title, place in the organizational structure, actual duties, degree of ultimate control and responsibility for the enterprise or a major component, number and skill level of employees supervised, compensation, and the applicant's qualifying experience. The supporting record should therefore describe the position in operational terms and connect each important responsibility to the company's actual structure. An organizational chart and detailed employer letter should corroborate, rather than substitute for, the underlying duties.

The FAM distinguishes a position principally involving management or key supervision from one chiefly involving routine substantive work.

Incidental routine work does not necessarily defeat the classification, but executive or supervisory responsibility should remain the principal function.

The executive or supervisory element must be a principal and primary function of the position rather than an incidental or collateral responsibility. Current FAM guidance contrasts a role that principally requires management skills or key supervision with a role that chiefly performs routine substantive work and only secondarily supervises lower-level employees. Some hands-on work does not automatically defeat qualification, especially in a smaller organization, but the overall duty mix should show that management or key supervision remains the central function. A percentage breakdown of duties can be useful when it accurately reflects how the employee will spend time in the United States.

The FAM expressly warns that a title such as vice president or manager may have little significance in a small two person office.

A small company can still qualify an executive or supervisor, but the record should explain real authority and business structure.

A small E-2 enterprise can qualify an executive or supervisory employee, but titles carry less weight when the organization has very few workers. Current FAM guidance specifically notes that a title such as vice president or manager may have little significance in a small two-person office. The record should instead explain the employee's real authority, the business component controlled, decisions made, budgets or functions managed, and the operational reason for the role. Where the manager also performs substantive work, the filing should explain why those tasks are incidental to genuine management rather than the position's principal function.

The FAM identifies the number and skill levels of employees supervised as factors.

The analysis should describe the significance of the team or major business component rather than merely count subordinates.

The number and skill level of subordinate employees are relevant factors, but the FAM does not impose one mechanical minimum number of direct reports. The analysis should describe who is supervised, what those employees do, and why the applicant's authority over them represents key supervision or responsibility for a significant business component. Evidence may include the organization chart, payroll, subordinate job descriptions, reporting lines, and examples of hiring, performance, scheduling, budgeting, or operational authority. Supervising several low-level employees while primarily performing the same routine work can be less persuasive than genuine responsibility over skilled staff or a major function.

Relevant prior management, supervisory, industry, or company experience can help establish that the applicant is suited to the intended role.

The applicant's prior experience should support the level of executive or supervisory responsibility claimed in the US position. Current FAM guidance lists qualifying executive or supervisory experience as one factor in the overall analysis. A resume alone may establish chronology but not necessarily the nature of earlier authority. Employer letters, promotion records, organizational charts, prior job descriptions, performance records, or other documentation can help show the applicant's management background. The evidence should also explain how that experience relates to the proposed duties, especially where the US role involves a major product line, department, geographic operation, or specialized business function.

• Detailed duty breakdown
• Organizational chart
• Employee roster
• Subordinate job descriptions
• Payroll records
• Salary evidence
• Resume
• Prior management evidence

The strongest record usually combines a detailed duty description with organizational evidence showing that the described authority exists in practice. Useful exhibits may include the organization chart, employee roster, subordinate job descriptions, payroll, salary evidence, resume, prior management records, governance documents, and evidence of authority over budgets, hiring, operations, or a major business component. The documents should use consistent titles and reporting relationships. If the enterprise is small or recently established, the filing should directly address how the applicant can perform principally executive or supervisory functions despite the limited staff, rather than relying on an inflated title or future hiring alone.