The E-2 visa is one of the most important visas available to foreign-owned companies seeking to operate in the United States. Israel will be the 81st country to have E-2 visa availability for its nationals, but only the first new country to be added to the E-2 list since 2008. The addition was anticipated back in 2005 when the US Congress passed legislation to grant E-2 status to Israeli nationals. However, it has taken many years for both Israel and the US to clear away the hurdles and get to this point. While E-2 status is available to many countries, a number of large countries – China, Russia, Brazil and India to name a few – do not have this visa option.
The US Consulate in Tel Aviv and USCIS in the United States began accepting Israeli E-2 visa applications on May 1, 2019.
