Washington’s move to ban Iranians from U.S. trade and investment visas has generated plenty of headlines, but the move is largely meaningless and should not be considered an intensification of the confrontation. On Thursday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) announced that E-1 and E-2 trade and investment visas would no longer be issued to Iranian nationals as a result of the termination in October 2018 of a treaty of amity with Iran. The E-1 and E-2 classifications are non-immigrant visas that grant holders entry into the United States to engage in international trade or invest a “substantial amount of capital” into a U.S. business. “Due to the termination of the treaty, USCIS will send Notices of Intent to Deny to affected applicants who filed applications after the Department of State’s Oct. 3, 2018, announcement. Iranians currently holding and properly maintaining E-1 or E-2 status may […]