E-2 Investor Visa

The E-2 non-immigrant visa is an additional option for nationals of a country, which maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States.

To apply for the E-2 non-immigrant investor visa, you must meet several main requirements, set forth by USCIS.

One of the requirements is that as an investor, you must be coming to the United States to invest in a new or existing business enterprise.  To expand on this, the business enterprise must be a bona fide enterprise and not what USCIS considers to be as marginal.  Some ways to demonstrate that the business is bona fide includes the Employer Identification Number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, Tax returns, financial statements, lease agreements, and escrow document.  A marginal enterprise is defined as being an enterprise that can will not generate enough income to provide an economic contribution that is substantial or even provide a minimal living for you and your family.  Some proof that can be submitted to show that your business is not marginal includes a detailed business plan, financial statements, and payroll summaries.

Another requirement, as stated by USCIS is that you must show that you are in possession of the funds for your investment and that these funds are tied to the business.  ‘Investment’ being defined as the investor’s capital, which includes funds and/or alternate assets, being at risk in the commercial sense with the purpose of gaining a profit, this capital must be subject to a complete or partial loss if this investment were to fail.  You would also be required to show the source of your funds, and to prove that the funds were not obtained from any sort of criminal activity, whether directly or indirectly.

Another qualification is that the applicant must be entering the United States to specifically develop and direct the enterprise in question.  This can be proven by showing evidentiary support on the applicant’s ownership of at least 50% or even possession of operating control through a managerial position or even an alternate corporate device.

Initially, the approval for the applicants will be granted for two years, requests for extension would be granted in increments of two years, and for some western countries, the visa is given for five years.  There is no maximum number of times an extension can be granted to the E-2 Investor visa holder.  Applicants must however, be able to maintain the intention to depart the United States when and if their status expires or is terminated.  When traveling abroad, they may be granted an automatic two year period of readmission upon their return.  In this case, they would not need to file a new application with the USCIS.

There are a list of terms and conditions that the E-2 visa holders are held to, such as only working for the activity for which you were approved for at the time you received your visa.  You may also work for the organization’s parent company or subsidiary as long as the relationship between the two are clearly established, the subsidiary employments requires executive, supervisory, and/or essential skills, and the terms/ conditions for employment have not changed or been altered.

As an E-2 visa holder, you may also bring dependents (spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21).  It is not required for them to be of the same nationality of the treaty investor.  The spouses also have the option of working, without restrictions, by filing the form I-765, the Employment Authorization Document.  Unlike the with automatic two year readmission for the E-2 Visa holders, the family members, if traveling without the E-2 visa holder, the family members would need to carefully note their period of stay and apply for the extension before their visa expires.