E-2 Treaty Investor Visas are for owners or key employees of active commercial business enterprises in which a substantial investment has been made: They must be citizens of a country with whom the United States has a trade treaty.
Requirements:
- At least 50% of the stock of the company must be owned by nationals of a treaty country.
- The investment must be “at risk,” i.e., the capital may be subjected to loss if the enterprise fails.
- The commercial enterprise must be entrepreneurial (not passive such as stocks or undeveloped land) and for-profit.
- Substantiality of the investment for new businesses can be demonstrated by showing that the amount of the investment is normal for that type of business, or in the case of existing businesses, that the investment constitutes a large percentage of the value of the business. There is no specific dollar requirement. The enterprise cannot be marginal, i.e., it must have the capacity to generate more than the money required to sustain the investor and his or her family.
- E-2 employees must engage in duties of an executive or supervisory nature, or if employed in a lesser capacity, have special qualifications that make the services to be rendered essential to the efficient operation of the enterprise.
Goswami, Strand and Seaborn has procured many E-2 Investor Visas for applicants from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Germany, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada for businesses as diverse as banks, laundries, bakeries, transportation services, and restaurants. |
