3 Tips to Help You Get Your E2 Visa Approved

The E2 visa is a great visa option for investors and entrepreneurs to live and work in the U.S. In this guide, we will explain 3 tips to get your E2 visa approved. If you have any questions, you may request a free consultation by clicking this link. 

Overview

The E2 visa is an investment-based non-immigrant visa. To qualify for an E2 visa, you must invest a substantial amount of capital into a U.S. business. After the investment has been put “at risk” (discussed below), you may apply for your E2 visa. 

With an E2 visa, one can manage and operate their business in the U.S. Another benefit of the E2 visa is that it allows your spouse to apply for work authorization to be able to work in the U.S. Additionally, another benefit of the E2 visa is that you can renew it over and over again as long as your business meets E2 visa requirements. 

With that general overview, let's discuss 3 tips to help you get your E2 visa approved. 

Tip #1: Invest at Least $100,000 in Your Business if Possible

Our first tip is to make sure that you invest at least $100,000 in your business, if possible. This is because the E2 visa requires that you make a “substantial investment” in your U.S. business.  The E2 visa regulations do not specify a dollar amount which is considered “substantial.” But, we generally recommend investing at least $100,000 if possible. Please note that investments for less than $100,000 can still get approved. For more details on the minimum investment requirements for the E2 you can check out our detailed article here. 

Tip #2: Put Your Investment Funds “At Risk”

Next, our second tip is to make sure you put your investment funds "at risk." The E2 visa requires that your investment funds be put at risk. This means that your funds should be subject to loss. To put your funds at risk, the funds should actually be spent toward your business. If the funds are merely deposited within the businesses operating account (but are not spent) then the funds are not considered to be at risk. 

The investment funds must be put at risk before applying for the E2 visa. Your investment funds can be spent on business expenses such as office supplies, office furniture, equipment, inventory, lease payments, etc.