The E2 visa checklist below provides a general idea of what is usually needed for foreign business investors (treaty investors) who have invested or is actively in the process of investing in a U.S. business to obtain their E2 business visa. To have a better understanding of this list, please read the E2 visa overview for the big picture and go through the E2 visa requirements and documents for more details on what is included as evidence in E2 visa applications.
Please click to download the E2 visa checklist for international business investors (treaty investors).
CONCLUSION (TLDR)
The overall emphasis on the documents and requirements/criteria of an E2 visa application is that the investments are lawful and at-risk (i.e., not just pretending to be financially committed) and the U.S. business that the business investor will be managing is real (i.e., not passive investment or just set up for immigration purposes). The business investor under the E2 visa application would need to show that they have already invested or are actively in the process of investing a substantial amount of money into a U.S. business and the reason that they are coming to the United States is to manage that business investment.
The requirements for an E2 visa application are extensive and while ticking the boxes of requirements sounds simple enough, figuring out what items should be included and strategizing how the application is presented is not. It is common practice and strongly encouraged to obtain an attorney for employment-based nonimmigrant visa applications.
Alternatives to the E2 Visa Petition
The closest alternatives to filing the E2 visa treaty investor application as a business owner would be filing for an E1 visa application for treaty investors who has an existing business that does mostly international trades between the United States and the treaty country that they are from, or an L1A visa or an L1B visa petition which is for employees who are either a manager or executive, or a person who has specialized knowledge of a multinational company to transfer from an overseas office to work in a United States office. Like the E2 visa, the L1A visa, and L1B visa also allow a foreign person to come to the United States to set up and manage start-up companies or newly established companies.
Another possible alternative to filing an E2 visa application would be to file for a green card application which is a permanent immigrant visa and not a temporary visa like the E2 visa. Typically, a person who is qualifiable as a business owner (treaty investor) for an E2 visa would choose to file for an EB5 green card (investor green card) due to certain similarities of the standards and requirements between the two visas. For more on green cards gained through work, please read the overview for employment-based green cards.
HAVE A E2 VISA IMMIGRATION QUESTION? CONTACT US
If you have an E2 work visa (Treaty Investor) immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify whether the E2 visa is the appropriate nonimmigrant visa category for the client’s professional background and if there are other visa options for the client. We will work closely with our client to prepare a convincing case for their E2 visa application and we will also strategize on how the E2 visa application should be presented to achieve the best chances of approval. It is strongly advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for an E2 business visa application due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
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- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- b.
- c.
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- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
RELATED ARTICLES
- E2 Visa (Treaty Investor)
- E2 Visa Requirement & Documents (Treaty Investor)
- E Visa Overview (Treaty Trader & Investor)
- E1 Visa (Treaty Trader)
- E1 Visa Checklist (Treaty Trader)
- E1 Visa (Employee of Treaty Trader)
- E1 Visa Requirement & Documents (Employee of Treaty Trader)
- E2 Visa (Employee of Treaty Investor)
- E2 Visa Requirement & Documents (Employee of Treaty Investor)
- E1 Visa & E2 Visa Checklist (Employee of Treaty Trader / Investor)
- L Visa Overview (Intra-Company Transferee)
- L1A Visa (Manager / Executive Transferee)
- L1B Visa (Specialized Knowledge Transferee)
- H Visa Overview (Specialty Occupations)
- Employment-Based Green Card Overview
- EB1c Visa (Multinational Manager or Executive)
- EB5 Visa (Investor)
- H1B Visa (Specialty Occupations)
- E3 Visa (Australian Specialty Workers)
- TN Visa (Canadian & Mexican Professionals)
- P visa Overview (Athlete & Entertainer)
- O Visa Overview (Extraordinary Ability / Achievement)