The United States has entered into treaties with several countries and established the E-2 visa to allow businesspeople from those countries to work in the United States for a business in which they have invested. (See I.N.A. § 101 (a)(15)(E).)
This article will discuss:
Note: Do not confuse E-2 treaty investor visas with green cards through investment. The E-2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, meaning it is temporary, while green cards are permanent, meaning their holders are lawful permanent residents. Moreover, a green card through investment requires a dollar investment of $500,000 or more, while an E-2 visa has no dollar minimum set in law.
Let's review some of the pluses, minuses, and issues surrounding the E-2 visa:
Like the E-1 visa, some people call the E-2 the next best thing to U.S. permanent residence, because it is possible to obtain via self-employment instead of a job offer, and it comes with an unlimited number of extensions of status. Also, there are no annual limits on the number of E-2 visas that can be issued to qualified applicants.
There are six requirements for getting an E-2 visa to the United States:
See 8 C.F.R. 214.2(e) for the relevant government regulations and details.
The E-2 investor must make a "substantial" investment in the U.S. business. There is no legal minimum, but the applicant or company must be:
So, for instance, an investment in land will not do it. Neither will investing in a "marginal" enterprise, meaning one that lacks the present or future capacity to generate more than enough money to provide a minimal living for the treaty investor and family.
E-2 visas are available to citizens of certain listed countries (ones that have qualifying treaties with the United States). You can check on whether your country has such a treaty in force on a U.S. State Department web page listing the treaty countries.
Generally, the applicant need not be presently residing in the country of citizenship in order to qualify for an E-2 visa. Check with the U.S. consulate in your home country to see if you must be.
If you're interested in an E-2 visa, your first task will be to find (or form) a business to invest in. That business will then take a leading role in your application process. See How to Sponsor a Worker for a Temporary, Nonimmigrant Visa for an overview, and How to Sponsor a Foreign Worker Who's Already in the U.S. for an E-2 Visa or How to Sponsor a Foreign Worker (Coming From Outside the U.S.) for an E-2 Visa.
The business's primary role will be to prove that it is an active, bona fide enterprise with a plan for profitability. Your main role will be to prove that you are making a substantial investment in that business, using money from a legitimate source, as well as to prove family relationships with any spouse and children who will be accompanying you (i.e. marriage and birth certificates) and to pass various security checks and show that you are not inadmissible to the United States.
If you're coming from overseas, you'll need to fill out State Department forms DS-160 and DS-156E. If you're coming from the United States, USCIS Form I-129 is the primary application that the employer or you will fill out and submit to USCIS.
For the final step in the process of coming from overseas, be sure to see The Day of Your Consular Interview for a U.S. Visa.
You'll find further details in U.S. Immigration Made Easy, by Ilona Bray (Nolo). You might also wish to consult an experienced immigration attorney or a full personal analysis of your eligibility and for help with the application process and interacting with U.S. government officials.
Need a lawyer? Start here.