E-2 TREATY INVESTOR VISA

For investors with $75,000 or more in capital, ready to deploy on the territory of the United States in new or existing businesses.

REQUIREMENTSE-2 Treaty Investor

To qualify for an E-2 visa, you must:


QUALIFYING NATIONALITY

Be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation; a full list of treaty countries is available below.


HAVE INVESTED IN

Have invested, or be actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise in the United States.


IN OWNERSHIP

Be seeking to enter the United States solely to develop and direct the investment enterprise.
You can find a full list of eligible countries

E-2 Treaty Investor

REQUIREMENTS

Investment is the treaty investor’s placing of capital, including funds and/or other assets, at risk in the commercial sense with the objective of generating a profit. The capital must be:

  • Subject to partial or total loss if the investment fails
  • Obtained, directly or indirectly, from legal sources

A substantial amount of capital is:

  • Substantial in relationship to the total cost of either purchasing an established enterprise or establishing a new one
  • Sufficient to ensure the treaty investor’s financial commitment to the successful operation of the enterprise
  • Of a magnitude to support the likelihood that the treaty investor will successfully develop and direct the enterprise. The lower the cost of the enterprise, the higher, proportionately, the investment must be to be considered substantial

A bona fide enterprise refers to a real, active, and operating commercial or entrepreneurial undertaking which produces services or goods for profit. It must meet applicable legal requirements for doing business within its jurisdiction.


PROCESS & TIMELINE

OVERVIEW

On average, it takes 4 – 12 weeks for Bay Immigration Law to prepare an E-2 case to file with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or with a U.S. Consulate abroad. Depending on the particulars of the sources of your capital, and on the requirements of the business (whether you are purchasing an existing business or registering a new one). In general, the process is as follows:

INTRODUCTION

We have an introductory phone call and go over your plans, requirements, and the documentation/information that will be necessary to proceed. We send out an Engagement Letter establishing the Attorney-Client Privileged relationship, and outlining the legal and government costs for the preparation and filing of the case.

Once the Engagement Letter has been returned to us, we will make a formal request for documentation and information to begin preparation of the case.

STEPS FOR SUCCESS

Depending on whether you are purchasing an existing business or starting a new business, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that you have or can provide the necessary documentation to establish the appropriate petitioner (your company) for the case. If you are starting a new business, we will prepare a detailed business plan to outline the expected market entry and growth, hiring plan, and pro forma financials. Once an initial draft is complete, we will iterate over the draft with you, as necessary.

CONTINUED COMMUNICATION

On a continuing basis we work with you to collect the information and documentation to fulfill the submission requirements for the Forms, Letter of Support and Packet.

ON COMPLETION

Once the packet is complete, we prepare a physical packet (in duplicate) at our Palo Alto office and ship it to USCIS (if you are in the United States and filing as a Change of Status), or to you directly (if you are outside of the United States and are attending a consular interview for your E-2).

Contact

MAIN OFFICE
125 University, Suites 185 - 200, Palo Alto, CA 94301
E-MAIL
info@bayimmigrationlaw.com
TELEPHONE
+1 (650) 739-9111

FAQ

What is the minimum amount of investment?

There is no regulatory mandated minimum amount, however we recommend that the amount be at least $75,000. This has, in practice, been accepted by USCIS to be a substantial and sufficient amount of capital, and while we have submitted and won E-2 cases with investment amounts that were as low as $50,000, we certainly do not recommend amounts less than $75,000.

What does “investment” mean?

Investment is the treaty investor’s placing of capital, including funds and/or other assets (of the investor and not obtained by any criminal activity), at risk in the commercial sense with the objective of generating a profit. The funds must be irrevocably committed to the enterprise.

Can I use in-kind contributions/non-monetary investment?

Yes. If you have capital assets (e.g. machinery, office equipment, real estate, etc.) that would be useful for your E-2 company’s business model, then the fair market value of these assets can be used as part of the qualifying investment in securing the E-2 visa.

Can I use debt financing?
  • Yes. A loan (securitized/un-securitized, etc.) from an individual or a financial institution as the source of funding that you use as part of the qualifying investment for your E-2 company is absolutely fine. Yes, personal loans, bank loans, etc.
  • No loans secured with the assets of the E-2 investment enterprise.
I already have a business in the U.S. that I have been running from abroad, would this qualify?

It could, yes. Did you invest capital at the start of the business? If so, then it would certainly qualify. If you didn’t have to invest capital and the business grew organically, then we would have to take a look at the specifics of the business model, and the company’s financials.

125 University, Suites 185 - 200, Palo Alto, CA 94301
3309 Elm St, Ste O-44, Dallas, TX 75226
info@bayimmigrationlaw.com

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