Although an E-2 visa is generally not considered to be a path to permanent residency, in some circumstances, the holder of an E-2 visa may qualify to apply for permanent residency in the United States.

Eligibility for the E-2 Visa

Alien investors who meet the following requirements may qualify for an E-2 visa:

The investor's home country maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation or bilateral investment with the United States;

Substantial Investment

There is no fixed amount of investment necessary to qualify for an E-2 visa, although as a general rule of thumb some immigration lawyers suggest that a minimum investment of $35,000 is necessary. The investment must amount to not less than fifty percent ownership in an enterprize that generates active income (as opposed to "passive income", such as that generated from rental property).

Ordinarily, the investment will be made by the E-2 applicant. There may, however, be circumstances in which an E-2 visa will be issued to an employee of a foreign company that qualifies as a treaty investor, provided the employee comes the United States in an executive or supervisory capacity to direct the enterprize or possess a specialized skill required by the enterprize.

Duration and Extension

An E-2 visa is issue for a two year period, and is renewable for an indefinite period as long as the visa holder continues in the same capacity with the business, and the business is actively engaged in trade or services.

Visa Eligibility for A Spouse and Minor Children

The spouse and unmarried minor children of an E-2 visa holder will also qualify for E-2 visas. These visas, however, will not automatically grant the spouse and children the right to work in the United States. 

Please call or e-mail for additional information and business opportunities that meet the E-2 criteria.

Business Immigration E-B5 Investor Immigrant

Foreign Investors can use business ownership for immigration purposes. If you would like to know more about how foreign investors can hold US Real Estate and Businesses for immigration purposes, call or e-mail today.

Under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5), 10,000 immigrant visas per year are available to qualified individuals seeking permanent resident status on the basis of their engagement in a new commercial enterprise. Of the 10,000 investor visas (i.e., EB-5 visas) available annually, 5,000 are set aside for those who apply under a pilot program involving an CIS-designated “Regional Center.”

"Alien investors" must:

Demonstrate that a "qualified investment" (see below) is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center; and, Show, using reasonable methodologies, that 10 or more jobs are actually created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased domestic capital investment resulting from the pilot program.

Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried children. Eligible aliens are those who have invested -- or are actively in the process of investing -- the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established. They must further demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States.

In general, "eligible individuals" include those:

1. Who establish a new commercial enterprise by:
   
   
   • creating an original business;
   • purchasing an existing business and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing the business such that a new commercial enterprise results; or
   • expanding an existing business by 140 percent of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth, or retaining all existing jobs in a troubled business that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months; and
2. Who have invested -- or who are actively in the process of investing -- in a new commercial enterprise:
   at least $1,000,000, or
3. at least $500,000 where the investment is being made in a "targeted employment area," which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 per cent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by OMB; and
4. Whose engagement in a new commercial enterprise will benefit the United States economy and:
   create full-time employment for not fewer than 10 qualified individuals; or maintain the number of existing employees at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years, where the capital investment is being made in a "troubled business," which is a business that has been in existence for at least two years and that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.Please call or e-mail for additional information and investment opportunities that meet the E-B5 requirements.

Please call for additional information. We will be pleased to answer your questions.