International law firm Baker & McKenzie has highlighted key elements of a recent US treaty with Israel giving citizens of the latter nation visa eligibility, a move designed to encourage Israelis to invest in the world’s largest economy.

Israel’s bilateral trade with the US was worth $36.9 billion in 2011, making the small country among the US's 10 largest export markets on a per capita basis.

On 11 June, President Barack Obama signed into law HR 3992, which provides treaty investor (E-2) visa eligibility for citizens of Israel.  The legislation was introduced by US Representative Howard Berman, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and passed by unanimous consent by the Senate.

The legislation, Berman is quoted as saying, will "encourage Israeli business leaders to invest in the US and lead to the creation of jobs for American workers. Israel is one of our closest allies in the world and a significant investor in the US economy”.

From the 1950s

The relevant treaty between the countries has existed since 1954; however, visa eligibility has been limited to treaty traders (E-1).  To be eligible for treaty trader status the applicant must show that the trading firm for which the applicant is coming to the US engages in substantial trade principally between the US and the treaty country, Baker & McKenzie said in a briefing note about the recent change.

The law had meant that more than 50 per cent of the international trade involved must be between the US and the country of the applicant's nationality.

Once implemented by Department of Homeland Security, E-2 visas will be available to Israeli investors or “key employees” of Israeli-owned companies that have made a “substantial investment” in an operating company in the US, where the purpose is to create new jobs in the US, Baker & McKenzie explained.

To qualify for E-2 visa status (in addition to being a national of the qualifying foreign state), a person must prove that the qualifying investment is "substantial and active", it continued. In other words, the investment must not be "marginal" - calculated simply to support the investor and his or her immediate family.

“The visa is normally valid for five years and a two-year period of stay is authorised for each entry. Status may be renewed indefinitely so long as the business continues to operate. Unlike other non-immigrant visas, there are no numerical limitations on the approval of E-2 visas in any fiscal year,” the law firm said.