E-2 Treaty Investor Visa |
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The E-2 Treaty Investor Visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows nationals of treaty countries to live and work in the United States following an investment of a substantial amount of capital in a business they significantly control. Additionally, employees who share the same nationality as the treaty country can be sent to live and work in the US as E-2 employees.
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What are the E-2 investor visa requirements? |
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The investor must be a national of a treaty country, as the E-2 visa eligibility is specific to an applicant's citizenship. All but five EU member states maintain an E-2 treaty with the United States, along with numerous other countries worldwide.
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The investor must have invested (or be actively investing) a substantial amount of money in their U.S. enterprise. This requirement is often misunderstood and widely discussed. The most common question posed to an E-2 visa lawyer is, 'How much money do I need to invest to qualify for the E2 visa?' E-2 visa rules and regulations do not specify a minimum investment. The appropriate investment is whatever amount is needed to make the U.S. enterprise operational. Consequently, the required investment depends entirely on the specific business an E-2 investor establishes. For instance, if a potential investor wishes to set up a boutique hotel and it will take approximately $500,000 USD to get that business running, then the appropriate investment is $500,000 USD. On the other hand, if an investor wants to create a small IT consultancy company and requires only $60,000 USD to do so, then the appropriate investment is $60,000 USD.
Unfortunately, many U.S. immigration lawyers inaccurately advise clients that they must invest a minimum of $100,000 USD or even $250,000 USD to successfully obtain an E-2 investor visa. This is simply not true. While it's important to ensure the investment meets the substantiality requirement for the E-2 category, it is possible to have the visa approved with an investment of under $100,000 USD. In addition to the above requirements, the investor must be coming to the U.S. to direct and develop the E-2 business. This stipulation is interpreted to mean that the E-2 investor must own at least 50% of the treaty enterprise. It's also possible to apply with another E-2 applicant as treaty co-investors, whereby each investor owns 50% of the business. There's no requirement for the investors to hail from the same country, as long as they are nationals of a treaty country. In fact, it may be beneficial for the E-2 company to be registered with ownership from two different countries when it comes to sending E-2 employees to work in the U.S. at a later date. For example, if an E-2 company is owned 50% by Belgian nationals and 50% by French nationals, once registered with a U.S. embassy, they can subsequently send both French and Belgian nationals to work for the company as E-2 employees provided they will serve in an executive, managerial, or specialized position. |
The Barella Global Advantage |
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The firm's Managing Attorney is an experienced E-2 visa lawyer. The E-2 investor visa application is processed at the consular level—that is, at a local U.S. embassy or consulate, depending on one's place of residence. Each consular post has its own set of requirements for presenting the application. Often, U.S. immigration attorneys based in the United States have little or no experience with filing E-2 visas through various embassies and consulates due to their location. While this doesn't necessarily disqualify them from handling your case, we strongly recommend retaining a U.S. immigration lawyer based abroad to file the application. Barella Global, with offices in London and Brussels, and a presence in Paris, has considerable experience filing E-2 investor visas at the U.S. Embassy in London and across the European consular posts.
While the E-2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa—meaning it doesn't directly lead to a green card—an investor may apply to renew the visa indefinitely. It's possible to eventually obtain permanent resident status in the future by seeking an alternative visa category once inside the U.S. Furthermore, eligible family members (spouse and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one) may obtain derivative visas to join the principal investor in the U.S. The spouse of an E-2 investor is also eligible to work in the United States incidental to their status. Contact our U.S. immigration law office to arrange a confidential consultation with one of our E-2 visa lawyers. |
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