Many businessmen turn to Visa E-2 when they can not qualify for visa L-1A because of the employment requirement.
It is important to remember that visa E-2 is a treaty visa and is available only to nationals of countries who had signed and ratified the respective treaty with the United States. This list is subject to updates so be sure to check it if you haven’t for a while. You can view current list of treaty countries on the Department of State’s website: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/treaty.html
Although both L-1A and E-2 visas are suited for individuals who own or manage business at senior levels, the emphasis differs greatly.
Visa L-1A application eligibility review will have a less focus on viability of business itself but rather on a ‘seniority’ of a position of a proposed visa L-1A beneficiary and number of employees hired by the business.
To the contrary, USCIS officers will much more closely look at business’ viability, size of investment and amounts of profit that it generates when reviewing visa e-2 application.
Therefore, not all businesses you may want to start or buy will be suitable for your E-2 visa qualification.
To qualify you for visa E-2, business must be bona fide i.e. it must be a real, active and entrepreneurial undertaking. Buying an apartment and passively renting it out to a tenant is not the type of ‘business’ that will hand you an approval for your E-2 visa application.
It should not also be qualified as a ‘marginal’ one, meaning that your business should produce more income than it is only enough to provide a minimal living for you and you family.
Though there is no formal requirement as to the minimum dollar amount of investment that must be made, not every business will qualify you for E-2 visa.
You can view full list of requirements on the USCIS official website: https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/e-2-treaty-investors
There are several types of businesses you can consider that include existing businesses you can buy, businesses you can start from scratch and businesses you can start under a franchise.
The latter option can often be the most beneficial because when you go with a franchise business, you leverage other people’s experience in the industry and have ongoing support from the franchise management team.
Contact Filimonov Law Firm PLLC and let’s start planning your E-2 visa case.
Why us? We are uniquely positioned as one of the very few law firms in the US who can offer business immigration at it’s fullest.
Before coming to the United States, Mr. Filimonov practiced as Russian business and corporate attorney. He understands both the nature of business in general, as well as it’s legal component.
Mr. Filimonov has offered transaction support and legal services in acquisition of properties and enterprises with a combined value of more than $300 Millions of US Dollars. businesses He knows first-hands all practices and specifics of doing and structuring business in former CIS countries, including variety of cross-border arrangements, and is able to identify every opportunity one may have to qualify for E-2 visa and, often, a Green Card.
This article provides general outlook of the recent practices and was written for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as, or considered to be a legal advice. You should not act, or refrain from acting, or rely on the basis of any information contained in this article or on the US-Immigration.law website without seeking and retaining the advice of an attorney.
