E2 Visa Investment Amount

Substantial Investment Required

The E2 nonimmigrant classification allows a national of a treaty country to live and work in the US when investing a substantial amount of capital in a US business. However, the regulations are ambiguous about how much someone should invest to get an E2 visa approved. In fact, there is no official minimum or maximum investment amount needed to get an E2 visa approved. If you’re a foreign investor interested in investing for an E2 visa and have been asking yourself how much a substantial investment would be, we explore this issue below.  

Unofficial Investment Amount

The unofficially recognized amount of investment to meet the substantial investment required for an E2 visa is $100,000. If you are investing at least $100,000, the E2 visa is much more likely to be approved.  Because this is an unofficial minimum investment amount, it remains fact-dependent on how much must be invested to be considered substantial. This could be less than $100,000 if it’s a small start-up business that doesn’t require as much capital to maintain itself, whereas a larger company may require hundreds of thousands of dollars to succeed.  

Must not be a Marginal Enterprise

Another factor to consider when determining the appropriate investment amount is that the investment must be enough so that the business is not considered a marginal enterprise. The business you invest in will be considered a marginal enterprise if it only earns enough to support the E2 visa holder and their family. The enterprise must create more than enough income to provide a minimal living for you or your family and must make a significant economic contribution. Therefore, if an investment is too low, even if that amount is over $100,000, it can be considered marginal, and the E2 would not be granted. Again, it all depends on the type of business.  

Investing in Existing Business vs. New Business

When considering applying for an E2 visa based on the purchase of an existing business, the investment amount will be the business purchase price. When buying an existing business, some financing is permitted, but in general, the financing should not be more than 25-30% of the total price if the investment is between $100,000 – $500,000. If the purchase price is more than this, you may be permitted to get more financing. In contrast, if the purchase price is lower than $100,000, it will be much more difficult to get an E2 visa granted if some of that $100,000 are financed.   If investing in a new business, the investment amount must cover the capital that is required to establish the business and be operational. If it does not, it will not be considered a substantial investment. Additionally, if investing in a new business, the E2 visa applicant must make the necessary business purchases before applying for the visa. Simply purchasing property or depositing funds into a business account, regardless of how much is spent, will not be considered a substantial investment if it doesn’t set up the new business to be fully operational.

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My name is Michael Ashoori and I’m a U.S. immigration lawyer and the founder of Ashoori Law. As an immigration lawyer, I help families, professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs get visas, green cards, and citizenship to the United States.  If you have any questions, feel free to schedule a free consultation by clicking this link.