<p>The requirements of an E-1 visa are well known to many Japanese Managers. The    U.S. company must be owned in the majority (over 50%) by Japanese nationals    or a Japanese parent company. The proposed employee must be a Japanese National    and the majority of trade of the U.S. company (Japanese subsidiary company)    must be between Japan and the U.S. Generally, the firms qualifying for an E-1    visa are import-export companies (trading companies), transportation, tourism,    computer services, automotive importers and parts companies, communications,    international banking, and insurance companies.</p>
<p>What is "substantial trade"? There is no set dollar amount of trade    required to qualify for an E-1 visa. This is a decision made by a U.S. Consular    Officer based upon the information and documentation presented to him and varies    from case to case. It also depends on the kind of company applying for a visa.</p>
<p>U.S. companies (Japanese subsidiary companies) that do qualify for an E-1 visa    may wonder how many visas they can obtain. Again there is no specific rule but    generally it is determined by the size of the company in the U.S. (sales) and    the number of American employees hired. The author represents a large international    Japanese company that has about 50 E-1 visas and employs about 900 American    workers. However, the author represents another company that has only about    50 employees and that company has about 10 E-1 visa holders. The number of E-1    visas issued depends on the circumstances of each company.</p>
<p>Two types of employees may work for the US company (Japanese subsidiary company).    One type is Executive or Managerial personnel. These, of course, are the top    executive staff or second level department managers. The other type is personnel    with "essential skills". These are personnel with special knowledge    of a company's product, marketing strategy, unique international system of operations,    or other knowledge not readily available. For example, specialized engineers    (such as automotive specialty engineers for a certain make of Japanese made    automobile) can qualify for an E-1 visa. As discussed later, engineering staff    can in some cases also qualify for an H-1 visa or an L-1 visa.</p>
<p>A good guideline for the definitions of Executive, Managerial and specialized    knowledge can be found in the discussion in this booklet concerning L-1 visas.    Those definitions are similar to the definitions of the E-1 visa, However, the    "essential skills" category of the E-1 visa and the "specialized    knowledge" category of the L-1 visa are not exactly the same.</p>
<p>The E-1 visa is issued at the American Embassy for an initial period of 4-5    years. Upon entry to the U.S., the alien is given a one or two years stay (I-94)    and can obtain yearly extensions.</p>