Last Updated on April 26, 2024 by Anda Malescu
What is E2 Investor Visa? The E2 Investor Visa is a non-immigrant investor visa program that allows a foreign investor to live and work full time in the USA in exchange for a substantial investment made into the country’s economy.
The E2 investor Visa is open to a wide variety of investors and entrepreneurs around the world who want to do business in the US and can make a certain investment into a US business. However, not every investor can qualify for an E2 Visa and this is because the investor must be a citizen of one of the countries with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation.
Additionally, the E2 Visa can also be used by investors to bring trusted employees to the US to work for the E2 business. However, it is important to note that the requirements for a foreign investor seeking an E2 Investor Visa for themselves and their families differ from those of a foreign employee coming to the United States on an E2 Investor Visa. Below we explain the benefits of an E2 Investor Visa in the USA and discuss the specific requirements a foreign investor and entrepreneur must meet in order to be eligible for an E2 Investor Visa USA.
Benefits of E2 Investor Visa
For investors and entrepreneurs applying and obtaining an E2 Visa has many benefits including:
- Investors can live and work in the US full time;
- Investors and their family can travel
internationally and in general they can travel freely in and out of the US multiple
times; - Investors can bring along their spouse and children
under the age of 21 on an E2 Visa status; - The spouse of the E2 Investor has an unrestricted
right to work in the US; the spouse can work for any company in the US, whether
full-time or part-time, and even start their own company in the US; - Investors’ children can attend US schools,
colleges and universities and are not required to obtain a separate student visa
(F-1 visa) - E2 visa can be renewed for an unlimited amount
of times, offering investors and their families the possibility to live and do business
in the US indefinitely.
While there are not many disadvantages to this type of US visa, some of them include:
- E2 Visa is available only to citizens of certain countries which have a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States; the most current and complete list of E2 Visa countries can be found here;
- Investor can work only for the E2 business in which he or she invested or if the E2 Visa is for an employee, the E2 employee can only work for the specific E2 employer;
- Investor and their family are granted 2-years of status each time they enter the US; this should not be confused with the validity of E2 Visa in the passport;
Key Requirements for E2 Investor Visa
The key requirements necessary for an investor and entrepreneur to qualify for an E2 Investor Visa in the US are:
- The
investor must be a citizen of one of the E2 Visa Treaty Country. It is not
sufficient for the investor to be a legal permanent resident of one of the E2
Treaty Countries or be in the process of obtaining citizenship; the investor
must be a citizen and must have a passport from one of the treaty countries in order
to be eligible to apply for an E2 Visa. For example, if the investor is a
citizen of Greece and has permanent residency in Canada, the investor does not
qualify for an E2 Investor Visa in USA because Greece is not an E2 Visa country
so the investor would not through his or Greek citizenship. Further, while Canada
is an E2 Treaty country, the investor would not qualify because he or she does
not have Canadian citizenship – the investor is a permanent resident of Canada
but not a citizen.
Currently, as of January 2020, the E2 Investor Visa countries are Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China (Taiwan), Colombia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
- The investor has invested or is in the process of investing in a US business at the time of application. The most important point here is that the investor has already irrevocably committed the investment funds at the time of application or has irrevocably committed some of the funds and assets prior to application. In practice, funds or assets are irrevocably committed when the investor is in such position that he or she loses the investment if the E2 Visa is not approved. For investors purchasing businesses in the United States or franchise businesses, conditioning the purchase and payment of purchase price on successful issuance of an E2 Investor Visa can qualify as an irrevocable investment depending on how the business purchase transaction is structured. For example, let us say that the investor wants to purchase a fast food restaurant for an E2 Visa in Miami, Florida and the asking price for the business is $200,000. The investor does not want to pay $200,000 for the restaurant prior to the E2 application because he or she does not know whether the E2 Investor Visa would be approved. However, if he or she does not commit any funds for the restaurant at the time of application then the investor does not qualify for an E2 Visa because there is no investment being made in the business. In this case, an option for the investor is to commit some of the funds and condition the payment of the full price of $200,000 on the approval of the E2 Visa. To do so it is important to work with experienced business immigration attorneys who can structure the transaction to meet all E2 Visa requirements and ensure the success of an E2 application.
In addition to the investment funds being irrevocably committed, the funds must be spent only on those transactions that count as investment because not every financial arrangement constitutes an investment for E2 Visa purposes. Moreover, the funds must come from legitimate sources and the investor must show that he or she is in possession and control of the investment funds or assets.
- The funds must be invested in a real and active US business. A real and active US business is one that produces a certain product or services. For example, a real and active business can be a restaurant, bar, yoga studio, pilates and aerobics, hairdresser, marketing agency, car and limousine services, travel agency and others. However, investing in stocks and bonds is not a real and active business. The special case is the real estate management or property management companies that can qualify for an E2 Investor Visa only under certain circumstances.
- The investment must be substantial. There is no specific amount of money that an investor must spend in order to obtain an E2 Visa. The rule of thumb is that $100,000 constitutes a substantial investment for the purpose of an E2 Visa but this is not a requirement nor a guarantee that the E2 Investor Visa is approved. Requirement is that the investor must invest a substantial amount based on the type of business the investor intends to do in the US. For example, if the investor intends to engage in real estate development in Florida, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. and build a hotel, then $100,000 is not a substantial amount because the cost for a hotel development project in the United States far exceeds $100,000 and for such projects investments in the millions would be an adequate investment. However, if the investor plans to open a fruit stand in Florida, then less than $100,000 can be considered substantial investment for an E2 Visa.
- The US business must not be marginal. The US business must be in a position to generate a substantial amount of income for the investor and his or her family. The business must have the capacity to ultimately hire employees and contribute to the US economy. An E2 business plan is required to show that the US business is not marginal. The E2 business plan is not a traditional business plan and must be at a certain level in line with US immigration guidelines, standards and requirements.
- The investor is in a position to develop and direct the US business. The investor must have a controlling interest in the US company and must be in a position to develop and direct the US business either through the investor’s ownership interest or other business corporate structure. The investor cannot be a passive investor in the US company and must be actively directing the activities of the business. For example, the investor cannot invest the E2 required funds with a business partner and have his or her business partner manage the entire company without any involvement from the E2 Investor.
Aside from investors, foreign employees can also be entitled to E2 Investor Visa under certain circumstances and we discuss in a separate article the requirements for E2 Visa for employees.
From E2 business selection to the E2 Investor Visa application, interview and E2 business plan, our experienced Miami Florida business immigration lawyers assist and advise investors throughout the E2 Visa process. We speak Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian and French.
Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers
