E2 VISA Requirements

Personal E2 Visa Requirements

There are a great number of E2 Visa requirements any applicant must meet. However, for the purpose of clarity, these can be informally split into Personal Requirements and Investment Requirements.

The Personal Requirements covered on this page mostly relate to the nationality, citizenship and country of residence of any particular applicant and for the most part are fairly well defined and relatively straightforward.

However, the Investment Requirements are considerably more complex, less well defined and will be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately the investment requirements are intended to ensure that the business being invested in is legitimate and will make a worthy contribution to the US economy.

E2 COUNTRY NATIONALS

In order to be eligible for an E2 visa you must be a national of a country that has a qualifying treaty with the USA.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Aplicants must show that they are resident of the country they are applying from.

 Family Members

In addition to the main principle investor the spouse and any children under the age of 21 can also apply for E2 Visas provided that they are also citizens of country that has a qualifying treaty with the USA.

Spouse

Whilst the principle investor will only be allowed to work for the E2 visa company, following an E2 Visa being granted the spouse can then apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a Social Security Number (SSN). Once having obtained both the spouse will be free to apply for work for any US company.

Children

Children are allowed to remain on the principles visa until the age of 21. They can not obtain work authorization during that time, they can become students and can also obtain a student visa, however they will be treated as a foreign student and applicable fees will apply.

Employees

In certain instances an E2 can be issued to an employee of the petitioning business, this basically means that instead of the investor applying for the E2 in this case it would be a manager or executive of the company obtaining the E2 in order to direct the company or fill a managerial position in the company that requires skills unique to the E2 applicant.

E2 Visa Renewal Requirements

Once your initial Visa is reaching its expiry date a new E2 visa or renewal will need to be obtained, this is a complete process and a full application has to be prepared and submitted to the embassy proving that the business is not only viable but has and continues to fulfil the requirements for the E2 visa, once again we do not recommend that you do this yourself.

IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS & LAWYERS

Find out why you don’t need to use an Immigration Attorney or Immigration Lawyer and why you could spend thousands of pounds more than you have to.

Can my partner apply as a spouse even if we are not husband and wife?

Only your spouse and children under 21 will be issued a visa along with yours, you have to be married for your partner to get a spousal visa with yours.

What will happen to my children when they reach 21?

When your children reach 21 they become adult in the eyes of the United States Immigration system and therefore will require their own visa. This can be obtained in a couple of ways if they choose to stay in the USA with you.

How long will my E2 visa be valid for?

E2 visas are issued for up to 5 years at a time, although this is purely at the discretion of the adjudicator at the embassy.