Your US branch(es) or the aforementioned US company has obtained an E-1 registration from the US Consulate in Frankfurt for the aforementioned period. The main applicant's visa serves as proof of the E-1 registration. The email from the consulate regarding the extension serves as proof. You will not receive a notification or certificate. The E-1 registration is simply noted in the US Consulate's database.

Based on the existing E-1 registration, E-1 renewal visa applications can now continue to be filed for certain employees, who may then be assigned to the US locations listed above. Please note that E-1 visas can only be applied for on behalf of the company listed above and its registered US address. Under certain conditions, it is possible to add new locations to the E registration.

Holders of approved E-1 visas are authorized to work full-time for the company registered under the E-1 visa, regardless of whether the employee will be taking several business trips or undertaking a long-term assignment in the United States.

A Social Security number and a driver's license can generally be applied for in the United States upon presentation of a visa or valid E-1 status.

• Applicants must have the same nationality as the parent company; in other words, if the company is German-owned, they must be German.
• The applicant's employment contract must either
  • with the domestic parent company and its affiliated subsidiaries, and possess sufficient qualifications, or
  • at the US location (e.g., a German employment contract, a secondment agreement, or a US employment contract).
• The employment relationship must be a regular, permanent position (freelancers, part-time employees, or temporary agency workers are not eligible!).
• Applicants must appear in person for an interview at one of the relevant US consulates in their home country. In Germany, only the US Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main processes E-1 visa applications.
• The application includes documentation regarding the US company and, if applicable, the corporate group, as well as the applicant (employee)—specifically, it addresses the necessity of the assignment and the applicant’s qualifications and job duties.
• Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 may obtain a derivative E-1 visa upon application. Spouses and children may also hold a nationality other than that of the employee. To be able to work in the US, spouses with an E-1 visa have, since the beginning of 2022, only needed “E1S” (“S” = Spouse) status, which border officials issue via an I-94 stamp. This eliminates the need to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Children under the age of 21 may attend educational institutions but are not permitted to work.

The E-1 registration was granted for 5 years. Extensions for additional 5-year periods are theoretically possible indefinitely as long as the company or corporate group continues to:

• exists locally as a business unit
• continues to conduct the majority of its trade between the U.S. and Germany
• is majority-owned by Germans
• at the time of renewal, provides a benefit to the U.S. economy, such as through the employment of U.S. workers, as evidenced by tax filings (“W-3/W-2 Forms”)