E-2 VISAS

The E2 visa allows foreign nationals and their family, spouse, and children under 21, to move to the US or frequently travel to the US and stay in the U.S. to actively manage and work for their E2 visa business.

The E2 Visa Requirements 9 FAM 402.9-6(A)  

(1)  Requisite treaty exists (see 9 FAM 402.9-4(A) above and 9 FAM 402.9-10 below);

(2)  Individual and/or business possess the nationality of the treaty country (see 9 FAM 402.9-4(B) above);

(3)  Applicant has invested or is actively in the process of investing (see 9 FAM 402.9-6(B) below);

(4)  Enterprise is a real and operating commercial enterprise (see 9 FAM 402.9-6(C) below);

(5)  Applicant's investment is substantial (see 9 FAM 402.9-6(D) below);

(6)  Enterprise is more than a marginal one solely for earning a living (see 9 FAM 402.9-6(E) below);

(7)  Applicant is in a position to "develop and direct" the enterprise - (see 9 FAM 402.9-6(F) below);

(8)  Applicant is destined to an executive/supervisory position or possesses skills essential to the firm's operations in the United States (see 9 FAM 402.9-7(B) and 9 FAM 402.9-7(C) below); and

(9)  Applicant intends to depart the United States when the E-2 status terminates (see 9 FAM 402.9-4(C) above).

You must be a national of one of the Treaty Countries to qualify. Treaty countries include Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. For a full list of countries please click here:

This depends on the Treaty Country. For instance, the E2 visas for Canada and the United Kingdom last 5 years, and can be renewed perpetually. 

The E2 visa is a non-immigrant visa and does not lead to a Green Card per se. For E2 visa entrepreneurs the most common avenues to a Green Card are EB2 NIW and EB-5. The E2 is usually the best way for foreign entrepreneurs to get to the U.S. and start to work on their long-term goal of obtaining a Green Card.

The main difference between the two is that ONLY consular filing results in a visa being issued.

USCIS filing, otherwise known, as the Adjustment of Status only adjusts the status of an E2 visa applicant while the applicant is in the U.S. on a valid visa (ESTA does not qualify as it's a visa waiver, not a visa). The adjustment of status I is valid for 2 years provided the E2 applicant does not leave the U.S.. If he or she does leave the territory of the U.S., the applicant will lose his or her status.

Consular filings are the preferred method of filing for E2 visas.

However, there might be instances where Adjustment of status is the preferred method for filing and was very popular during COVID without Clients as the consulates were taking a year to process visas and arrange interviews.

There is no minimum amount required to qualify for the E2 visa. However, the E2 visa requirements make it clear that the amount of investment must be substantial.  What is considered substantial depends on the type of business the applicant wishes to invest in. Generally speaking, an IT consulting business does not require a significant amount of investment to become operational, while a manufacturing facility will require a significant investment to become operational. For start-ups, the investment is the cost of establishing and capitalizing the business; while for business purchases, it’s the market value of that business. For franchises, it’s the franchising fees plus costs associated with starting the company. The general guidance is that the investment in the E2 business must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the E2 business and to show that the applicant is financially committed and invested in the E2 business.

There is a common misconception amongst many attorneys that the E2 investment must be over $100,000. That is simply not the case and is very much determined on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, your business can be a start-up.

This does not matter. We have helped hundreds of E2 applicants who had no prior entrepreneurship experience obtain their E2 visas.

Our track record speaks for itself and we want our clients to have confidence in our abilities; in the unlikely event your case gets denied, we offer free refiling services. 

The invested funds must be committed and at risk. This simply means that the investment funds must be spent/invested at the time of filing. To illustrate this, let’s assume that you are a client who is looking to start a clothing business. You have an idea of what you’re going to sell, and you’ve picked a vendor from whom you’d like to purchase the material for $20,000. You could either prepay the vendor in full, or for those of you familiar with the concept of escrow, very common in real estate transactions, paying money into an escrow account to be then disbursed to the vendor upon E2 visa approval, or returned to the investor if denied, is a common way for us protect our Clients’ funds. Now that you have committed yourself to spending $20,000 or spent $20,000 by paying the vendor directly, there might be some equipment that you own that you’d like to sell or gift to your company at $40,000. You will also need some working capital, cash in the bank, to get the business up in running, circa $8,000, as well as payment of legal fees and any other business expenses you have paid for to get your business up in running. All of the spending/asset ownership etc. will need to be documented for the purpose of the E2 visa application.

The simple answer is no. The money has to be committed and at risk. 

Typical examples of E2 investment items:

Business Purchase – Sale and Purchase Agreement at a fair market value

Inventory/Stock – such as clothing for a fashion company or an e-commerce business, painting supplies for a painting company

Equipment – such as a vehicle for the business*, laptop, phones, 

Software – are you transferring rights to Intellectual Property such as Software as a Service (SaaS) that you created? Did you develop an app and would like to transfer the rights to the app to your new U.S. business?

Premises – are you a builder or a property management company that owns homes across the US? Or are you leasing an office or a warehouse to store your products in the U.S.?

Other.

Have you incurred any other business expenses in setting up your E2 business? 

Legal fees,

Business trips? 

Paid employees or contractors?

Is your business in the U.S. already operational? If yes, we might be able to use some of your historic costs.

There is a common misconception amongst many attorneys that the E2 investment must be over $100,000. That is simply not the case and is very much determined on a case-by-case basis.

The E2 visa allows applicants to invest in all types of businesses from consulting start-ups to franchises to established companies. We have worked with all types of businesses from Tech businesses to painting franchises to consulting start-ups.

Learn more

For those of you looking for a franchise to purchase - here is a great list of TOP 500 franchises in the U.S. - 

https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500

Entrepreneur offers a quiz to help you determine which franchise would be best for you that can be accessed here: 

https://franchisehelp.entrepreneur.com/franchise-quiz/Industry/?utm_source=entrepreneur&amp%3Butm_campaign=quiz&amp%3Butm_term=need-help-starting-franchise&amp%3Butm_medium=franchisecenter

For those of you looking to purchase a business, here are some websites to explore.

https://www.bizbuysell.com/businesses-for-sale/

https://us.businessesforsale.com/

https://www.loopnet.com/biz/businesses-for-sale/

E2 visa applicants must own at least 50% of their E2 business to qualify.

No, it does not matter whether you own an LLC or a C-corp or the state in which your business is based.

Yes, both your foreign business and you as the applicant can apply for an E2 visa.