An E-2 visa is for citizens of certain treaty countries who invest in a real U.S. business and plan to come to the United States to run it.
The harder part is usually not forming the company. It is showing that the investment is real and committed, that the business is credible, where the money came from, and what you will actually do in the business.
How I Help
I help clients figure out whether E-2 is a realistic option before they spend time and money building the case. If it is, I help organize the investment, source-of-funds evidence, business documents, and overall story so the application is clear and internally consistent.
I also help identify weak points early, including investment amount, ownership and control, business-plan assumptions, and consular issues that may need a better explanation.
Who This Is For
E-2 can be a good fit if you are buying or starting a U.S. business, you are a citizen of an E-2 treaty country, and you will have enough ownership or control to run the business. There is no single minimum investment amount, but the amount has to make sense for the type of business you are building or buying.
Where Cases Get Difficult
Problems often come up when too little money is actually at risk, the business plan is weak, the source of the money is hard to document, the business is not far enough along, or it is unclear what the investor will actually do.
The goal is to make the business and the investment easy for the reviewing officer to understand.
Before You File
Forming a company or opening a U.S. bank account is not enough by itself. Before filing, you should be able to show where the investment funds came from, how the money has been committed to the business, what the business will actually do, and why you are the person who will run it.
If the business is still at an early stage, those details become even more important.