E-2 Employee Evidence

Ownership records, nationality evidence, business registration, financial information, E registration records, and operating evidence can establish the employer foundation.

The evidence should first establish that the proposed employer qualifies as an E treaty enterprise. For an individual employer, the record should document treaty country nationality and qualifying E status where applicable. For a company, ownership should be traced to the ultimate individual owners so the filing can show that at least 50 percent of the enterprise has the treaty nationality. Corporate formation records, stock or membership ledgers, ownership charts, passports, tax records, and current operating evidence should tell a consistent story about the employer’s nationality and business identity.

A passport and other nationality evidence should be consistent with the treaty nationality attributed to the employer.

An E-2 employee must share the treaty nationality of the qualifying employer. A clear passport copy is usually the starting point, but the employee evidence should also be consistent with the nationality attributed to the enterprise and its qualifying owners. Where the business has layered ownership, dual nationals, trusts, or entities in several jurisdictions, the filing should make the ownership and nationality analysis easy to follow. Inconsistencies between company records, prior visa filings, DS-160 information, or the employee’s identity documents should be resolved before submission.

The FAM checklist calls for a letter explaining the employee's title, duties, executive or supervisory responsibility or specialist role, education, knowledge, experience, training, and reason for the assignment.

The employer letter should explain why the employee qualifies under the specific executive, supervisory, or essential employee standard being claimed. Current State Department guidance focuses on the employee’s title, actual duties, level of authority, education, knowledge, experience, training, special qualifications, and reason for the US assignment. For an essential employee, the letter should also explain the enterprise’s need for the particular skills. The narrative should identify concrete responsibilities and business needs rather than repeat regulatory phrases or rely on a senior sounding job title.

The chart should identify reporting lines, current staffing, departments, subordinate employees, and the employee's place in the company.

The organization chart should show the employee in the real operating structure of the US enterprise. It should identify reporting lines, departments, managers, professional staff, operational employees, and any important contractors or outsourced functions that help explain the position. For an executive or supervisory case, the chart can demonstrate the component controlled and the level of the employees supervised. For an essential employee case, it can show where the specialized function sits and why the employee’s skills are needed. The chart should match payroll and job descriptions.

Diplomas, transcripts, certifications, prior employer letters, technical training, manuals, project records, and compensation evidence may be relevant.

The filing should corroborate the qualifications that make the employee suitable for the proposed E-2 role. Depending on the theory, useful evidence may include diplomas, transcripts, professional certificates, prior employer letters, training records, technical manuals, project history, promotion records, compensation evidence, or documentation of company specific knowledge. Essential employee cases should connect the employee’s background to the specialized skills the enterprise actually needs. Executive and supervisory cases should document experience exercising comparable authority. Qualifications should support the proposed duties rather than exist as unrelated credentials.

DS-160, DS-156E where required, employer letters, resumes, charts, payroll records, company registration, and interview testimony should describe the same position and qualifications.

Every part of the employee case should describe the same job, employer, and eligibility theory. The DS-160, DS-156E when required, employer letter, resume, organization chart, payroll evidence, company records, and interview testimony should agree on title, duties, reporting structure, compensation, qualifications, and expected assignment. If the role changed from an earlier filing or registration, the new record should explain the change directly. Consistency is especially important where the case depends on a particular level of executive authority, supervisory responsibility, or a defined essential skill that can be tested against the supporting documents.