E-2 visa requirements are listed on the USCIS website:

In general, they can be reduced to three main points:

The first requirement is that you must be a citizen of a treaty country.
Follow this link to find a list of countries where you can get an E-2 visa:

The second requirement is that you must have invested in the past or be in the process of investing in a US company. This is broken down into three requirements: show legal ownership and control of the funds, the investment must be at risk, and you must be close to starting your business.

The third requirement is that investments must be significant. There is no clear definition of what essential may mean to the United States government. However, what you need to understand by this is that the investment you will/have made must be significant in relation to the business you want to run. For example, a service business will require less capital than a manufacturing business. Therefore, the nature of the business will determine what qualifies as a significant investment, with the average being $100,000.

The requirements are listed on the Immigration Service website:

The basic concept of the L-1 visa is that you are an executive, manager, or owner of a business abroad and want to join a subsidiary or branch office located in the United States.

The L-1 visa allows a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This visa also allows a foreign company that does not already have an affiliated office in the United States to send an executive director or manager to the United States for the purpose of establishing one.

Primary requirements:
For the Employer:
1. Qualification Relationships:
The employer must have an established qualifying relationship with the foreign company (parent company, division, subsidiary or affiliate), including qualifying organizations.

2. Activities in the USA:
The employer must be currently conducting business in the United States, or planning to begin one, while also conducting business in at least one other country, either directly or through a qualifying entity, during the period the beneficiary is in the United States in L-1 status.

For the Employee:
1. Period of work abroad:
An employee claiming L-1 status must generally have been employed by an eligible organization abroad for one continuous year during the three years preceding his or her entry into the United States.

2. Executive or Managerial Role:
The employee must seek to enter the United States to provide services in an executive or managerial role for an affiliate of the same employer or one of its respective organizations.