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Treaty Investor Visa: E-2

Currently the most popular visa for many European applicants, the treaty investor visa offers a great opportunity to live in the United States. It is available to citizens of certain countries which have a treaty with the U.S. to encourage investment. The treaty investor can live in the United States as long as he or she is “directing and developing the investment.” This can be a for a year or for thirty years. His or her spouse may obtain employment authorization in any job in the U.S.

How does it work?

The investor must invest a substantial investment into a new or existing American business. There is no minimum amount that defines “substantial,” but it must be a sum that shows the investor is seriously taking an economic risk, and that the sum is likely to produce a profitable investment. In many cases $ 100,000 are sufficiently “substantial.”

The investment must be in a profitable business. For example, it is not sufficient to buy a residence for this amount and live in it, or buy an expensive car or similar. The investment must be geared to produce profit, so it usually has to be in a business. The profit must not be marginal, but considerably more than just enough to make a living from.

The investor and his or her spouse and minor children will be allowed to reside in the U.S. as long as the investment is at work (as long as the business exists and is profitable).

The investor is allowed to “direct and develop” the investment. He or she cannot work in any other job or position. However, his or her spouse is allowed to work in any other job and for any other employer. The investor’s children are not allowed to work.

This always is a tricky issue: the investor visa is not a work visa, the idea is that the “investment” is working and producing the profit, not the investor himself or herself. The investor may, however, manage the investment. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two:

Here an example: Two investors each invest $ 100,000 to open a bakery, one in Portland, one in Seattle. The Portland investor buys the equipment, rents the place, and begins work as a baker, kneading the dough, putting the bread in the oven, every night. His wife is at the counter during the day and sells the bread. They only sell to local walk-in customers.

The Seattle investor rents the place, buys the equipment, and hires 5 employees: a baker, two helpers, and two salespeople. He spends his day calling up supermarkets, delis, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses to sell his bread to. He meets with suppliers, does payroll and taxes, thinks of advertising campaigns and spends 10 hours a day in the office. He never bakes a single bread himself.

The Seattle investor is “managing and directing” his investment. The Portland investor, however, mainly performs the work of a baker. He is not really “managing and directing” the investment. The investment is not mainly producing the profit, but the investor’s manual labor is.

The Seattle investor will most likely receive a visa, the Portland investor might not.

The E-2 investor should have the ability to manage his or her investment, experience and education in the respective field of business are of great advantage in the visa application process.

How to get an investor visa?

Your first step should be to develop a business plan for the next 5 years. You need to know what your investment should do and how it will become profitable. You have to carefully evaluate the market conditions, the competition, your strengths and weaknesses. If at the bottom line there is the realistic chance that you will have a profitable business, you should consult with us if you fulfill the legal requirements for the visa.

We then can take care of the application process. The visa application will be at the end of the investment process, through which we can guide you. In most countries, E-2 visa applications are processed very quickly, often within a few months.

The treaty trader visa (E-1)

If you do have an existing business that mainly trades between your country and the United States, you may be qualified for a treaty trader visa. The U.S. has treaties with several countries to encourage trade between the two. If you are a citizen of one of these countries and your business engages in trade mainly between the two countries, then you can opt to live in the United States to conduct the trade from here. Your visa will allow you to enter and stay as long as your trade is going on, which can be for many years.

Other than the E-2 visa, the treaty trader visa requires an existing business with existing trade. Usually you would have to prove trade between the U.S. and your country for at least a year before you apply for the visa. The trade volume needs to be substantial, but there is no set minimum. The number of trade transactions per year and the value of the transactions both will be a factor in the application process. To receive the visa, your foreign trade must be mainly (50%+) between your country and the U.S.

Example: You own a business in your country that manufactures specialty parts for automobiles. You produce the parts in your country. You established a resale business in the U.S. which will import the parts from your factory to sell them to automobile manufacturers and repair shops in the U.S. Of all the parts you produce, you sell some in your own country, but of all that you export, the majority goes to the U.S.

You can also reverse the flow of goods: you produce the parts in the U.S. and sell them to your home country. In both cases you could qualify as a treaty trader. However, you must ensure that there is a flow of goods (may include certain services) between the country of your nationality and the U.S. For example, if you have a sale outlet in the U.S., a business in your home country, but mainly import goods manufactured in a third country, then you might not qualify for the treaty trader visa.

The residency possibilities are the same as with the E-2 visa: you can only work as the trader, but your spouse may obtain employment authorization. Your visa and stay will be valid as long as you engage in the trade. The visa has to be renewed every couple of years where you will have to prove that you still qualify.

Key employees of treaty investors or treaty traders

Another great opportunity to live in the U.S. is if you are a key employee (usually executive or manager) of a treaty trader or investor. The owner of the business (the trader or investor) does not even need to live in the U.S. himself or herself, as long as he or she would be qualified for an E-visa. You can be employed as the trader’s or investor’s manager, executive officer, or key specialist to be working in the U.S. You must have the same nationality as the owner/business, and the business must fulfill all of the above listed conditions. If you are a manager or executive of such a business, the E-visa might have advantages to the L-visa, because it may allow a theoretically unlimited stay. You also do not need to have been employed by the employer abroad before you apply for the visa.

Investor Green Card (EB5): permanent residence through investment

If you can invest a minimum of $ 500,000 and have a business plan that realistically shows that you can open or take over a profitable business with at least 10 new jobs for domestic applicants, you may be qualified for the investor green card. Eventually this green card gives you permanent residence and a path to U.S. citizenship. This green card is available to citizens of all nations, no bilateral treaty is required. There are strict requirements for the profitability of the business that you want to open or take over, as well as requirements for a minimum investment amount. The general minimum investment is $ 1 million, but in certain projects or geographical areas half of this amount will be deemed sufficient. You also have to create a minimum number of jobs open to domestic applicants.

Again, as with the E-investor, the key to your immigration will be a business plan showing that your enterprise will fulfill all requirements and be profitable. Once you receive your green card, it will be conditional on continued profitability of your business. After a certain period, you may remove the conditions and will have an unconditional green card that also allows you, if you qualify, to naturalize after a while and become a U.S. citizen.

L-visa and priority green cards for multinational executives and managers

If you are a manager or executive of a multinational company and are employed abroad in this position, it is possible that your company may send you to the United States to work in an affiliated business in a managerial or executive position. You may even qualify for permanent residence (green card). If you and your employer are interested, you should contact us for further details.

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