How the E-2 investment visa works

Treaty investors are an integral part of the American economic system. Treaty investors establish new businesses in the US and create employment opportunities, which makes treaty investor visas a key piece of the US immigration system. However, because of this, the legislation which governs treaty investor visas, specifically the popular and effective E2 visa classification, has made the acquisition of one of these visas relatively complex. For this reason, many potential treaty investors are turned away from the E2 simply because they lack the knowledge necessary to navigate the highly complex immigration system of the US. Our full-service immigration law firm knows this and is generously offering our many years of experience and high level of skill to new clients seeking to qualify for an E2 visa. Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys are imbued with a high level of dedication and professionalism which renders us the superior team of immigration lawyers available in the area, and perhaps the nation. Contact our firm and schedule a free case review with no obligation today.

Individuals and employees of individuals may qualify for the E2 from inside or outside the US, provided they meet all the requisite qualifications. Employees must meet several additional and alternate qualifications in order to be eligible, and their employer must also fulfill certain requirements, particularly if the employer is not an individual. But more on that later! Right now, you need to know the basic qualifications (besides – if we got into the hairy details of the visa classification we’d be here for far too long).

Generally, to be eligible for the E2 visa, a treaty investor must:

  • Be the national of a treaty country
  • Have invested or be investing a substantial amount of capital in a legitimate US enterprise
  • Be entering the United States solely to be the developer and director of the investment enterprise

Sounds simple enough – right? Well, yes and no. A treaty country is a country that has a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States (this is one of the simple ones – just contact our office and see if your country of nationality qualifies you for the E2!).

Who decides what counts as “substantial?” USCIS decides. However, it’s not determined by how they feel that day – there’s a system! And our Los Angeles immigration attorneys and Beverly Hills immigration attorneys know the system and we use it to pre-screen our clients’ petitions so we know for sure that they will be approved.

And finally – how can you prove that you fulfill the third requirement? You can do this by showing that you own at least 50% of the enterprise or have control of the development direction of the operation through your position of a corporate or managerial nature (note: this is for individuals qualifying for the E2 that are primaries, not employees).

If you are even mildly concerned about qualifying for any of the three primary general requirements, contact our office and speak with a Los Angeles immigration attorneys from our firm today.

All right – I’m hitting my word cap for this post pretty soon, so I can’t tell you about all the limitations and restrictions regarding the nature of an investment, the terms and conditions of the visa, or all the qualifications that an employee and employer must fulfill. To learn more, contact our office and speak with one of our Los Angeles immigration attorneys today.

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