An E2 Treaty Investor visa allows a national of a treaty country to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for this classification. See below for more details.
Some of the various E2 Treaty Investor Visas that we handle:
- E2 Treaty Investor Visas for Gas Stations
- E2 Treaty Investor Visas for Restaurants
- E2 Treaty Investor Visas for Hotels
- E2 Treaty Investor Visas for Grocery/Convenience Stores
- E2 Treaty Investor Visas for Software companies
Why Should I Hire and E2 visa attorney?
Applying for an E2 visa is a complex process. Our immigration attorneys can assist you with every step of the process, including creating a company, one of the requirements for the visa, creating an immigration business plan, which is different than a business plan you would make for a bank, ensure that all of the required documents are sent with the application, and more.
General Qualifications of a Treaty Investor
To qualify for E2 classification, the treaty investor must:
- Be a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation
- Have invested, or be actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise in the United States
- Be seeking to enter the United States solely to develop and direct the investment enterprise.
General Qualifications of the Employee of a Treaty Investor
To qualify for E2 classification, the employee of a treaty investor must:
- Be the same nationality of the principal alien employer (who must have the nationality of the treaty country)
- Meet the definition of “employee” under relevant law
- Either be engaging in duties of an executive or supervisory character, or if employed in a lesser capacity, have special qualifications.
Period of Stay
Qualified treaty investors and employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of two years. Requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to two years each. There is no maximum limit to the number of extensions an E2 non-immigrant may be granted. All E2 non-immigrants, however, must maintain an intention to depart the United States when their status expires or is terminated.
Terms and Conditions of E2 Status
A treaty investor or employee may only work in the activity or business for which he/she was approved for at the time the classification was granted. An E2 employee, however, may also, under certain conditions, work for the treaty organization’s parent company or one of its subsidiaries.
Family of E2 Treaty Investors and Employees
Treaty investors and employees may be accompanied or followed by spouses and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Their nationalities need not be the same as the treaty investor or employee. These family members may seek E2 non-immigrant classification as dependents and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee.