E-2 Investment Visa
E-2 Investment Visa is a type of nonimmigrant visa and is meant for people who have made any investments in a US company, and wish to come to US to develop and direct the business operations of that enterprise. The country of the applicant must have a treaty with US with respect to investment, commerce and navigation. In a general context this visa is not considered to be a path to permanent residency, still the applicant may apply for a permanent resident status if he holds a special case or circumstance to himself.
The minimum amount required to be invested by the applicant of the E-2 Investment Visa amounts to $25,000 and this is necessary as well. Though the visa supports no fixed amount but the investment of minimum amount is necessary to qualify for the visa. The investment must amount to not less than fifty percent ownership in an enterprise that generates active income (as opposed to “passive income”, such as that generated from rental property). The applicant may be treated as the employee of the company and may come to US in the capacity of an executive or supervisor to direct the enterprise or possess a specialized skill required by the enterprise.
To be noted in points following are the eligibility criterion to qualify for the E-2 Investment Visa:
- The home country of the applicant has a treaty signed with US for the maintenance of commerce and navigation or in other words maintenance of bilateral investment with the United States.
- The applicant has made a minimum investment of $25,000 in the US based company. This will be counted as the “substantial investment” made by the applicant to qualify.
- The applicant is only interested in coming to US for the direction and management of the company in the capacity of an executive or manager. He must possess a set of special skills in order to control the operations of the company.
- The applicant’s investment is 50% of the total amount invested and is owned by him only.
- The investor is not dependent on the company for any financial needs. He must be independent as far as the financial resources are concerned.
- The creation of the company and its operations results in the creation of jobs for the employees present in US. Though this is not mandatory but it proves beneficial for the applicant.
Amongst the privileges of the E-2 Investment Visa, the first and foremost is that you will be able to work legally and operate freely all your day to day business operations in US. You will be able to stay in US for a prolonged period with the benefit of unlimited two year extensions as long as you maintain E-2 qualifications. You will be free to move in and out of US throughout the validity of your visa. You will be able to bring your spouse and children in US to live with you. However it is necessary that the children have not attained majority and are unmarried. You can apply for the E-2 Investment Visa online also.
For assistance on attaining an investment visa by an Immigration Lawyer, please contact us today.
