The E visa can be used by companies owned by a single investor as well as by large multinational companies. Note that the above may change without notice. Please check with the State Department for recent changes. E-1 visas were previously restricted to a trade of goods and specific services, including banking, finance, and the airline industry. This limited definition of services has been greatly expanded so that trade can be in goods or services without specification or restriction.
Goods are tangible commodities or merchandise having intrinsic value.
Services are economic activities whose outputs are other than tangible goods. Such service activities include but are not limited to banking, insurance, transportation, communications and data processing, advertising, accounting, design and engineering, management consulting, tourism, and technology transfer. You engage in executive or managerial duties or possess special skills that make your services essential to the employer's operations. An executive position provides the employee great authority to determine the policy of and direction for the business or a major component of the business. The executive functions must be the primary functions of the employee, and not just incidental or collateral to other duties.