Ten of 15 former Soviet republics have E-2 and only Estonia and Latvia have E-1. A country-by-country table from 9 FAM, and how to read it.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Fitenko, Esq. — Florida Bar #1064536. With 20+ years of experience in the legal field, she advises Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking founders, traders and investors on treaty visas, in English and Russian.
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine can apply for the E-2 treaty investor visa, and only citizens of Estonia and Latvia can also apply for the E-1 treaty trader visa. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have neither. That is the treaty table in 9 FAM 402.9-10 of the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual, as read on November 6, 2026 (chapter revision CT:VISA-2190, dated February 17, 2026).
The E-1 column is where most readers go wrong. Lists of "E visa countries" on the internet tend to merge E-1 and E-2 into one line, so a Ukrainian or Georgian importer reads that the country qualifies and starts planning a trader visa that does not exist for that passport. The table gives each class its own row. Where the E-1 row is missing, the class is missing.
Nationality is a threshold question. The statute, INA 101(a)(15)(E), admits a person under a treaty between the United States and the foreign state of which that person is a national, so the size of the investment or the volume of the trade cannot compensate for a passport that is not on the list. Everything else about an E visa is argued on evidence. This part is read off a table.
This page answers one narrow question: which class each post-Soviet nationality holds, and how to read the table correctly. For what to do when no one in the family holds a qualifying passport, see our article on which passport opens the E-2.
The table below gives every former Soviet republic with the entry-into-force dates printed in 9 FAM 402.9-10. A dash means the country has no row for that class. Read on November 6, 2026.
| Country | E-1 (trader) | E-2 (investor) |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia | — | March 29, 1996 |
| Azerbaijan | — | August 2, 2001 |
| Belarus | — | — |
| Estonia | May 22, 1926 | February 16, 1997 |
| Georgia | — | August 17, 1997 |
| Kazakhstan | — | January 12, 1994 |
| Kyrgyzstan | — | January 12, 1994 |
| Latvia | July 25, 1928 | December 26, 1996 |
| Lithuania | — | November 22, 2001 |
| Moldova | — | November 25, 1994 |
| Russia | — | — |
| Tajikistan | — | — |
| Turkmenistan | — | — |
| Ukraine | — | November 16, 1996 |
| Uzbekistan | — | — |
Lithuania is the entry people misread most often. Estonia and Latvia hold both classes, so it is natural to assume the third Baltic state does too. It does not: Lithuania has an E-2 row from November 22, 2001 and no E-1 row.
The old dates carry no extra weight. A 1926 date for Estonia's E-1 means the treaty is that old and still listed. An Estonian trader in 2026 meets the same regulation as a Canadian or a Japanese one.
A missing E-1 row means a citizen of Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova or Lithuania cannot hold E-1 status, however large the trade with the United States. There is no substitute showing and the regulation offers no exception for a strong trading record. The category at 8 CFR 214.2(e)(1) belongs to nationals of a treaty country, and for E-1 these eight states are not treaty countries.
The practical alternative for these nationals is E-2, which has a different engine. E-1 is built on an existing flow of trade. E-2 is built on capital placed at risk in a real U.S. enterprise that the investor will develop and direct, under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(12) and (e)(13). A Ukrainian exporter with a steady stream of U.S. buyers does not qualify through those sales. The same person may qualify by investing in a U.S. company that carries on that business, and the file is then about the investment, the enterprise and control.
The difference matters most for the person with little capital and a lot of turnover. An Estonian in that position can look at E-1, where the regulation sets no minimum value or volume for each individual transaction. A Georgian in the same position has to fund an enterprise, because E-2 is the only class on the table for that passport. There is no fixed dollar minimum for E-2 either: 9 FAM 402.9-6(D) says no set dollar figure constitutes a minimum amount. The test is proportional to the cost of the business.
E-1 requires substantial trade, conducted principally between the United States and the treaty country of the applicant's own nationality. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(9), trade is the existing international exchange of items of trade for consideration, the exchange must be traceable and identifiable, and title to the item must pass from one party to the other. A plan to trade later is not trade. Successfully negotiated binding contracts calling for immediate exchange do count as existing trade.
Items of trade reach well past physical goods. The same paragraph lists services, international banking, insurance, transportation, communications, data processing, advertising, accounting, design and engineering, management consulting, tourism, and technology and its transfer. An Estonian software or engineering firm selling services to U.S. customers is inside the definition.
Substantial trade is measured by flow. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(10) the amount must ensure a continuous flow of trade between the two countries, which contemplates numerous transactions over time; a single transaction does not meet it, however valuable, and no minimum is set for the value or volume of each individual transaction. Under 9 FAM 402.9-5(C), a smaller business can qualify through a pattern of many relatively small transactions, and trade income sufficient to support the trader and family is viewed favorably.
The 50 percent rule is where post-Soviet E-1 cases most often fail in concept. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(11), over 50 percent of the volume of the trader's international trade must be between the United States and the treaty country of the trader's nationality. An Estonian citizen whose U.S. trade runs mainly with Russia, Kazakhstan or Germany does not meet this, even with a clean Estonian passport, because the trade has to run with Estonia. The remainder of the business may be domestic trade or trade with other countries, so the rule looks only at the larger share of the international volume.
E-1 also does not fit a person who only sells inside the United States. The regulation states that domestic trade or the development of domestic markets without international exchange is not trade for this purpose. A Latvian citizen opening a Florida shop with Florida suppliers has an E-2 question, and Latvia does hold E-2.
No. Residence, a residence permit and birthplace do not give treaty nationality; citizenship of the treaty country does. 8 CFR 214.2(e)(7) says the nationality of an individual treaty trader or investor is determined by the authorities of the foreign state of which the person is a national, and 9 FAM 402.9-2 describes E-1 and E-2 as visas for citizens of treaty countries. A Russian citizen with permanent residence in Georgia is a Russian citizen for this analysis.
The same logic runs the other way for people born in the Soviet Union. Someone born in Kharkiv or Almaty who holds only a Russian passport has no Ukrainian or Kazakh treaty nationality unless that country's own authorities treat the person as a citizen. The answer comes from that country's citizenship law and documents, and U.S. officers start from those.
Holders of a Latvian non-citizen's passport or an Estonian alien's passport should be careful. We found no provision in 8 CFR 214.2(e) or 9 FAM 402.9 that addresses these documents by name, so we state this as our reading: the title of the document says the holder is not a citizen, the rule speaks of nationality as recognized by that state, and we would not build an E case on such a document without first confirming the holder's actual citizenship.
The passport also decides how the visa is issued. Under 9 FAM 403.9, E-1 and E-2 visas are issued in the passport of the treaty country, with an exception for a derivative family member who lacks treaty nationality. Traveling on one passport while the case rests on another invites a problem that had no reason to exist.
Company nationality follows people, too. Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B), the country of incorporation is irrelevant and the nationality of a business is the nationality of its owners. A Florida LLC or a Tallinn company is read through to the human beings who own at least 50 percent of it.
Israel and Turkey are the two second passports that matter most in post-Soviet families, and both carry E-1 and E-2. Turkey has E-1 from February 15, 1933 and E-2 from May 18, 1990. Israel has E-1 from April 3, 1954; E-2 visas for Israeli nationals have been issued since May 1, 2019 under Public Law 112-130, according to footnote 15 of the table.
| Passport | E-1 | E-2 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | Yes | Yes | E-2 issued since May 1, 2019 |
| Turkey | Yes | Yes | Check how citizenship was acquired |
| Germany | Yes | Yes | In force July 14, 1956 |
| Poland | Yes | Yes | In force August 6, 1994 |
| Portugal | Yes | Yes | Issued since March 15, 2024 |
| Bulgaria | — | Yes | E-2 only |
| Romania | — | Yes | E-2 only |
| Greece | Yes | — | E-1 only |
| Grenada | — | Yes | E-2 only; see the three-year rule below |
Greece shows the same trap in reverse. It has an E-1 row from October 13, 1954 and no E-2 row, so a Greek passport is no help to an investor, while a Bulgarian or Romanian passport is no help to a trader.
A person with two treaty passports has to pick one for the company. Under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(d), a dual national owner must choose which nationality will be used, and the owner and all E employees of that company hold themselves out as nationals of that one country for all E purposes. The only exception is a company owned and controlled equally, 50/50, by nationals of two treaty countries. For a person holding Estonian and Israeli citizenship, the choice also determines which treaty country the E-1 trade must run with.
Not right away. Since Public Law 117-263 amended INA 101(a)(15)(E), a person who acquired the relevant nationality through a financial investment, and who has not previously been granted E status, must have been domiciled in that country for a continuous period of not less than 3 years at any point before applying for the visa. The amending provision is section 5902(b), and the statute text is 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E).
This rule changes how Grenada and any other investment program on the table should be read. Grenada has an E-2 row from March 3, 1989 and no E-1 row. A Grenadian passport bought last year by someone who has never lived there does not open E-2 under the statute, because the domicile period has to be continuous and at least 3 years. The clause does not define domicile, so plan on having to show actual life in the country, which a rented address alone will not do.
A caution on sources. As of November 2026, a text search of 9 FAM 402.9 finds no restatement of this condition, and neither does the USCIS E-2 page, so a reader who checks only those two will miss it. The statute controls. Our E-2 visa page sets out how we work on these cases.
No. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(4), the nationality of a spouse or child of a treaty trader or investor is not material to their classification. A Russian-passport spouse of a Kazakh E-2 investor can hold derivative E-2 status, and so can a Belarusian child of an Estonian E-1 trader, provided the child is unmarried and under 21.
Nationality does still affect the family's visa stamp. Under 9 FAM 402.9-9(a), a derivative who holds a treaty nationality gets the validity of that nationality's reciprocity schedule or of the principal's visa or stay, whichever is less. A derivative from a non-treaty country follows the reciprocity schedule of the principal. We do not quote reciprocity periods on this page because they change by country; the current schedule is on travel.state.gov.
Status and visa are separate clocks. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(19) and (e)(20), the initial admission is up to 2 years and extensions come in increments of up to 2 years. The length of the visa comes from the reciprocity schedule of the country, as 9 FAM 403.9 explains. A short visa does not by itself shorten the stay granted at the border.
Open the source and read four things in order. It takes a few minutes and it outranks every list on the internet, this one included.
Footnotes can narrow a row sharply. Bolivia and Ecuador still appear for E-2, yet footnotes 13 and 14 limit new visas to investments established before cutoff dates in 2012 and 2018. The table shows that a listed country can lose ground, so check it again shortly before you file.
The table answers only the nationality question. It says nothing about whether a given business or a given volume of trade qualifies. For the rest of the requirements, read our E-2 guide, and for the full range of options see our investor and business visa services.
Our initial consultation is $200 for 30 minutes, paid by card through a link before the meeting, and it is always credited toward your fee. We hold it on Google Meet, by phone, or at our office at 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076. We take clients from other states and other countries, and that work runs on Google Meet.
On a treaty visa inquiry we begin with passports: every citizenship held across the family, how each one was acquired, and which one the company would use. If the country has no row for the class you want, we tell you in the first minutes and spend the rest of the time on what your facts do support.
Standard E-2 representation starts at $6,000. A complicated case is priced by agreement once we have seen it. USCIS filing fees and consular visa fees are not part of our fee.
We do not promise outcomes, and Florida Bar rules do not allow us to. To start, fill out the intake questionnaire at fitenkolaw.com/intake, call (305) 315-3425, or email fitenkolaw@gmail.com. Our second office at 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 receives clients by prior appointment only.
No. As of November 6, 2026, Russia has no E-1 or E-2 row in the treaty table at 9 FAM 402.9-10, and neither do Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or Turkmenistan. INA 101(a)(15)(E) depends on a treaty with the country of your nationality, so the size of an investment does not change the answer. A spouse or child with a Russian passport can still receive derivative status through a principal with treaty nationality, under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(4).
No. As of November 6, 2026, Ukraine appears in 9 FAM 402.9-10 for E-2 only, with a date of November 16, 1996, and it has no E-1 row. The same is true of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Lithuania. A Ukrainian citizen can look at E-2, which requires a substantial investment in a real U.S. enterprise under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(12)–(14), rather than a record of trade.
Estonia and Latvia. Estonia has E-1 from May 22, 1926 and Latvia from July 25, 1928, and both also have E-2. Lithuania has E-2 only, from November 22, 2001. An E-1 trader from Estonia or Latvia must conduct over 50 percent of the volume of international trade between the United States and that same country, under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(11).
No. E-2 follows citizenship, and a residence permit does not supply it. Under 8 CFR 214.2(e)(7), nationality is determined by the authorities of the foreign state of which you are a national. If your only citizenship is Russian, Georgia's E-2 treaty does not apply to you. Your spouse's Georgian citizenship could support an E-2 in the spouse's name if the spouse is the investor and holds the required ownership and control.
You choose one for the company. Both countries are on the table for E-2, and under 9 FAM 402.9-4(B)(d) a dual national owner must select one nationality, which the owner and all E employees of that company then use for all E purposes. Only Israel also offers E-1. Compare the two before the ownership documents are signed, because the choice also sets the reciprocity schedule for your visa and the nationality any later E employee must share.
No. Under INA 101(a)(15)(E), as amended by Public Law 117-263, section 5902(b), a person who acquired nationality through a financial investment and has not previously held E status must have been domiciled in that country for a continuous period of not less than 3 years before applying for the visa. Grenada also has E-2 only, with no E-1 row in 9 FAM 402.9-10.
The first step is the intake questionnaire at fitenkolaw.com/intake. The consultation is $200 for 30 minutes, paid by card through a link before the meeting and always credited toward your fee. It runs on Google Meet, by phone, or at our Coral Springs office, in English or Russian. You can also call (305) 315-3425 or email fitenkolaw@gmail.com.
This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Treaty tables, State Department guidance, USCIS policy, forms and fees change; confirm current requirements with the Department of State and USCIS before acting. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Fitenko Law PLLC, 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076 (main office); 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (by appointment only). Phone: (305) 315-3425. Email: fitenkolaw@gmail.com