Aventura E-2 Visa Attorneys

Helping International Investors Acquire E-2 Visas

If you’re an international investor, you already know about the first-rate investment opportunities in South Florida and across the U.S. To take full advantage of these opportunities, you need the advice and services of an Aventura E-2 visa lawyer at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi.

Schedule a consultation to discuss your goals with us as soon as you’ve made the decision to invest in a U.S.-based business enterprise. When you become our client, helping you achieve your immigration and investment goals becomes our priority.

E-2 visas are offered to investors from treaty-partner nations – international investors who can make a substantial investment in a U.S.-based business enterprise. How do you obtain an E-2 investor visa? What does the E-2 visa offer?

Who May Apply for the E-2 Visa?

The typical E-2 visa applicant is someone who already owns and operates one or more successful businesses. The U.S. and other nations want such investors for obvious reasons. They bring investment funds that create jobs, businesses, and prosperity.

The United States provides international investors with several visa options: the E-1 trader visa and the EB-5 investor visa, as well as the E-2 treaty partner investor visa. The E-2 is offered exclusively to investors who can make a substantial investment in a U.S. business enterprise.

What is Considered a Substantial Investment?

For E-2 visa purposes, investment is an investor’s placement of capital at risk to generate profits. The investor’s capital must be subject to partial or total loss should the investment fail.

The law specifies no minimum investment amount, but it would be difficult to acquire an E-2 visa without investing at least $150,000 in a U.S. business enterprise. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, a “substantial” investment amount is:

substantial compared to the cost of buying an established enterprise or starting a new one
sufficient to ensure the treaty investor’s continuing commitment to the enterprise
sufficient that the investor will likely develop and direct the enterprise successfully

How Do You Apply for E-2 Status?

If you’re in the U.S. with a non-immigrant visa, such as a tourist visa, you’ll submit Form I-129 to seek a change of status to E-2. Treaty investors outside of the U.S. must apply for and obtain an E-2 visa from a U.S. consulate or embassy.

Ask an Aventura E-2 visa lawyer at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi to help you complete Form I-129, as mistakes or misunderstandings could delay your visa’s approval. You can reach our offices – from anywhere – by calling 754-289-6645.

What Does Obtaining an E-2 Visa Require?

International investors seeking E-2 visas must meet the following requirements:

The investor must be from a treaty partner country. More than eighty countries have signed an E-2 treaty with the United States.

The investment must be adequate to ensure the successful operation of a real, operating enterprise. Idle or speculative investment does not qualify. Funds in a bank account or a “paper” organization are not considered investment funds.

An E-2 investor must maintain at least fifty percent ownership and control of the business, and the investment must generate income substantially beyond what is adequate to provide a living for the investor and his or her family.

The investor must be coming to the United States to develop the enterprise and control the funds in person. An applicant who is not the principal investor must be employed by the company in an executive, supervisory, or highly specialized support capacity.

The investment has already been made or is in the process of being made, and the investor must be able to prove that the investment funds are legitimate and came from legal sources.

You can prove that the business you are investing in is not a marginal business by presenting a comprehensive business plan, or if the business is already established, by presenting documents such as U.S. tax returns, payroll reports, financial statements, and W-2 or W-9 tax forms.

Do E-2 Visas Provide a Path to U.S. Citizenship?

E-2 visas do not provide a direct path to United States citizenship, but an E-2 investor has several indirect paths to lawful permanent residence, and eventually, to naturalized U.S. citizenship.

An E-2 visa attorney at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi can review your current circumstances and explain your options for pursuing lawful permanent residence and citizenship.

Along with their investments, international investors in the United States spend abundantly. They purchase homes and vehicles, and many send children to a U.S. college or university. They also help U.S. citizens by paying a considerable amount of federal, state, and local taxes.

Can E-2 Visa Holders Apply for Green Cards?

International investors should know that the E-2 visa is a “non-immigrant” visa. If an investor wants to remain in the U.S., that investor should apply for an immigrant visa before coming here. If you are already in the U.S., you must submit Form I-129 to change your immigration status.

Because it is a non-immigrant visa, you cannot become a permanent resident of the U.S. – that is, you can’t acquire a green card – merely by obtaining an E-2 investor visa alone.

However, with help from an Aventura E-2 visa attorney at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi, an E-2 investor can explore alternative paths to becoming a lawful permanent resident – provided that the investor has not violated his or her E-2 visa’s conditions and terms.

Can E-2 Visas Be Extended?

An E-2 visa is usually valid for five years, and there is no limit on the number of extensions that may be granted. It usually takes two to four months from filing an application for an extension before the extension is approved. E-2 investor visas are usually renewed for five-year periods.

You may renew an E-2 by applying at a U.S. consulate or embassy (outside of the U.S.) or by filing for an extension with USCIS if you’re already in the U.S. International investors should know that consular officers have the discretion to issue a visa for a period shorter than five years.

You may apply to renew an E-2 visa up to six months before its expiration. You may also extend your stay by leaving the United States and returning with no need to apply for a new visa.

How Do E-2 Visas Benefit International Investors?

The United States and its citizens are enriched in many ways by the investors who acquire E-2 visas, but what are the benefits for the visa holder? The many benefits of acquiring an E-2 treaty investor visa include but are not limited to:

E-2 visas usually take less time to be approved than most other visas.

E-2 visas are not subject to annual caps or quotas.

The E-2 investor’s spouse and minor children are usually qualified for derivative E-2 visas that allow them to follow or accompany the investor to the United States.

The E-2 investor’s minor children may attend school in the United States.

E-2 investors may purchase real estate in the United States.

What About the Investor’s Family?

E-2 investors may be accompanied or joined by their spouses and unmarried minor children (under age 21) who may seek E-2 non-immigrant classification as dependents. An E-2 visa spouse enters the United States with E-2S status as the spouse of the principal visa holder.

Family members are typically granted the same period of stay as the investor. If the family members are already in the United States, they may apply for E-2 status or an E-2 extension by filing a single Form I-539 (“Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status”).

The spouses of E-2 investors are granted work authorization automatically and do not need to apply for an Employment Authorization Document. A current Arrival/Departure Record (Form I-94) indicating E-2 status is considered proof of work authorization.

Work authorization is unrestricted for E-2 visa spouses. They may work part-time, full-time, or be self-employed. Spouses are not limited to working for the U.S.-based business that the other spouse has invested in. However, E-2 dependent children are not authorized to work in the U.S.

Have E-2 Visas Recently Been Restricted?

As you may know, in recent years, new legal restrictions have been imposed on several visa categories. Some of these restrictions were purportedly intended to protect U.S. workers and to prioritize their hiring.

However, because E-2 treaty investors create new employment opportunities in the United States, no new restrictions have been imposed on the E-2 visa category. Even if more restrictions are added in the near future, it is not likely that the E-2 treaty investor visa will be restricted.

The E-2 visa is offered only to international investors from nations that are treaty partners with the United States. The U.S. State Department maintains a list of these nations, but you don’t have to be currently living in a treaty-partner nation or your home country to qualify for an E-2 visa.

What If Your Application for an E-2 Visa is Denied?

An E-2 visa requires a business to have a capacity or a projected future capacity to be profitable beyond merely providing for the investor and his or her family. An E-2 visa or visa extension application may be denied if the business receiving the investment is deemed marginal.

In almost all cases, the rejection of an application for an E-2 visa cannot be appealed. It may only be possible to appeal the decision if there is a clear misapplication of the law. In most cases, it is easier to resubmit your E-2 visa application after you have addressed the reasons for the denial.

If you file to extend your E-2 status and your renewal application is denied, an Aventura E-2 visa attorney at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi can explain your options and help you file either an appeal to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office or a motion to reconsider the decision.

How Will Your Attorney Be of Service?

U.S. immigration and business laws can be quite perplexing, so if you’re confused, you are not alone. A South Florida visa attorney can help E-2 visa applicants, visa holders, and their families meet the legal challenges and remain in compliance with immigration laws.

Investors can best take advantage of the E-2 visa and the investment opportunities in the United States by consulting from the beginning with an Aventura E-2 visa attorney who has the knowledge to answer all of your questions and the ability to address all of your concerns.

All visas take time, so international investors who apply for the E-2 visa should begin the process – and have access to sound immigration advice – as early as possible. The first step is scheduling an initial consultation with the legal team at the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi.

Let Us Guide You Through the E-2 Visa Process

Aventura immigration attorney Carla A. Anzaldi and her team represent and advise investors around the world who want to invest in U.S.-based businesses. We can help you make the right decisions, acquire the visa you need, and understand what the law requires.

Our legal practice offers reasonable fees and practical solutions to the challenges that international investors face. We speak Portuguese and Spanish as well as English.

If you’re seeking an E-2 visa, or if you’re an investor dealing with any immigration issue in the United States, call the Law Offices Of Carla A. Anzaldi – from anywhere – at 754-289-6645.