TREATY INVESTOR VISA E-2 VISA OVERVIEW

The E-2 Visa is generally appropriate for investors entering the United States to either purchase or start-up a qualifying business. For a business investment to qualify in the E-2 category, it must meet certain criteria including:

1) The investment enterprise must be controlled by the treaty investor. This typically means that the investor must own at least 50% of the investment enterprise.

2) The investment must be in an actively trading business, not in a passive enterprise such as the mere ownership of rental property. Accordingly, the mere purchase of several rental villas will not qualify an investor in the E-2 category.

3) The investment must involve funds for which the investor is personally at risk. Loans secured by the assets of the enterprise are generally not acceptable. As a result, investors in the E-2 category cannot generally utilise seller financing in the purchase of a business.

4) The investment must be substantial. You should note however, that the substantial nature of the investment is not measured in absolute dollar terms, but rather by comparing the amount invested with the amount actually required to either purchase or start-up the enterprise. You should also note, that the E-2 Visa regulations never specify a certain dollar amount of investment as being a qualifying one for E-2 Visa purposes.

5) The enterprise must not be marginal. An enterprise is generally marginal if it can only support the investor and his/her family, without generating enough revenue to employ other US workers. Contrary to much popular opinion however, the E-2 Visa regulations never specify that a certain dollar amount of income is required to meet the marginality requirement, or that a certain number or class of workers must be employed.