“Hi this is immigration attorney Abisha Parikh. and today i will be discussing the E-2 Visas. The E-2 investor visa allows an individual to enter and work inside of the US, based on an investment the applicant will be controlling within the US. The visa has to be renewed every year, but there is no limit on how many times you can renew it. Investment must be substantial. Investor must contribute to the US economy. Just setting a small shop alone wont be enough. Investor visas are available to only treaty nations. To see if your country has a treaty agreement with the US you can check the USCIS website for a full list of countries. Unlike other investor visas, such as an EB5, there is no minimum requirement that you must invest for an E-2. However, the investment must be large enough to start and operate the business. The amount of investment varies on the type of business. Other pros of this visa are 1) it is available all year renewed. 2)Its renewable indefinitely. 3) Its open to majority or sole owners and 4) Its frequently granted to companies that can show a strong business plan, even if they arent in full swing operations yet. Now lets look at the cons. 1) it is only available to citizens of certain countries. China, India and Brazil are not on the list. 2) It must be initially financed with money coming from the citizen of that same country. There are two ways to qualify for an E-2 Visa. 1)As the principal investor or 2)As an employee. There are few requirements for the principal investor route. 1) You must be a citizen of an E2 treaty country. 2)The business must be at least 50% owned by the citizens of the same treaty country that you qualify under. 3) The money invested must come from the E2 applicant personally, not a loan. 4) You must be able to demonstrate that an investment that you have personally made is irrevocable, meaning you cant take it back. 5) You must be able to show that within a few years the company will be undertaking additional projects, rather than just simply supporting the E2 closure. This is commonly satisfied by showing that the company expects to hire US employees. And lastly, 6) you must show that you will be directing and controlling the company. If you feel that you will be able to put together enough money to invest in your company, the E2 visa can be a great option to try for.”
