USAE-2 Visa.
For entrepreneurs investing in and operating US businesses.
- A larger investment does not automatically create a stronger case.
- Passive investments do not qualify.
- Proving where the invested money came from is one of the most important parts of every application.
- Business structure and operational credibility matter as much as investment size.
Quick answers
What is the E-2?
The E-2 is a non-immigrant visa for entrepreneurs investing in and operating a U.S. business. It has no annual cap or lottery and can be renewed indefinitely if the business remains active.
Minimum investment
The E-2 visa has no fixed minimum investment amount. The investment must be substantial relative to the cost of establishing and operating the business.
Who qualifies?
The E-2 is available only to citizens of countries with an E-2 treaty with the United States. Applicants must actively direct and develop a real operating business.
Processing time
Most E-2 applications require several weeks of preparation before filing. Consular interview wait times vary significantly by embassy or consulate.
What is the E-2 visa?
The E-2 lets a national of a treaty country live in the US to run a company they have put their own capital into. There is no fixed minimum; the amount has to be in proportion to what that business costs.
Officers judge whether the business is real and will grow, not the size of the investment alone.
Four ways
into the E-2.
There is more than one way into the E-2. Some applicants launch companies from scratch. Others buy existing businesses, join E-2 enterprises as key employees, or operate through franchise systems.
Founder
You're launching a US business that you will direct and develop yourself, with your own money already committed to it.
Franchise Buyer
One of the most structured E-2 paths. The franchisor's business model supplies much of the operating record. Popular sectors: food service, retail, fitness, home services.
Buying an Existing Business
Purchasing an established US business with existing revenue and staff. The operating history helps show the business supports more than your own household.
Other structures can qualify too. Employees must share the owners’ nationality. A company with steady trade with the US and no investment may fit the E-1 instead.
Your passport
comes first.
The E-2 is open to citizens of a treaty country alone, and the US business takes its nationality from the people who own it. Living in a treaty country is not enough.
81 countries
The UK, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Canada and Mexico are among them. India, Russia, Brazil and mainland China have no E-2 treaty.
A company with your nationality
Treaty nationals hold at least half of the US business. Owners who live in the US with a green card do not count toward it.
Citizenship by investment
Citizenship from an investment program counts only after three years of real residence there, unless you held E status before.
Six things
the officer checks.
Officers weigh the six together. A large amount does not make up for a business that only pays your own way.
- 01Treaty nationality, for you and the company
- 02Money committed and at risk before filing
- 03An amount in proportion to the business’s cost
- 04A lawful, traceable source of funds
- 05A real business that grows past a living
- 0650% ownership or operational control
The full E-2 process,
in six steps.
The business comes first and the filing second. Most of the time goes into setting it up and documenting the money, then into the post’s own review or the USCIS queue.
Eligibility assessment
Start with the 3-minute eligibility test. An expert then reviews the business type, the money behind it, and your passport before any capital is committed.
Case strategy
With your attorney, you pick a consulate abroad or a change of status in the US, and plan the investment timeline and the evidence.
Business setup and investment
You form the company, move the funds, sign the lease or purchase agreement, and start spending on the business. Every transfer is documented, from your account to the company. This step takes the longest.
Preparation of the application
Your attorney drafts the cover letter, ties every exhibit to an E-2 requirement, and readies the forms alongside the business plan. Nothing is filed until you have read and signed it.
Filing and decision
At a consulate, the post’s E visa unit reviews the package, then holds the interview. From inside the US, the company files Form I-129 with USCIS, where premium processing brings a decision in 15 business days.
Approval and activation
Each admission lasts up to two years, and you run the business in E-2 status. The E-2 renews while the business still qualifies, and a spouse may work with no separate permit.
On imigOS, every stage of the case sits in one place: what has been filed, what USCIS is reviewing, and what your attorney needs from you next.
How imigOS worksWhy strong cases
still get denied.
Most E-2 refusals turn on the money and the plan, not on the size of the investment.
- 01
Funds not fully committed
Money still sitting in a personal account reads as a promise. Officers want it spent, or tied to the business by contract, before filing.
- 02
Generic or unrealistic business plans
Template projections and thin hiring plans are easy to spot, and the first renewal compares the plan with what the business actually did.
- 03
Incomplete source-of-funds documentation
Gaps in the money trail, undocumented transfers, or informal gifts draw scrutiny. Every major transfer has to be explained on paper.
- 04
Business appears marginal
A business built only to pay its owner’s living costs fails. Officers look for income beyond the family or jobs for others.
The honest
tradeoffs.
The E-2 lets a treaty national build a US business and live beside it, with no lottery and no degree. The money goes in first, and the business is tested again at every renewal.
Vote on the ones that matter to you.
- Renews for as long as the business qualifies
- Spouse can work without a permit
- Faster to set up than most work visas
- No cap and no lottery
- No degree needed
- The company can bring key staff
- Not a green card by itself
- Treaty nationality is required
- You must run the business yourself
- Passive investments do not count
- The money goes in before you file
- Results are checked at every renewal
The E-2 and its alternatives.
- Status
- Temporary, renewable
- Based on
- Investment
- Minimum
- None fixed
- Lottery
- None
- Degree
- Not required
- Nationality
- Treaty countries
E-1
The treaty visa for a company with steady trade with the US, and no investment at all.
E-1 vs E-2L-1A
Transfers a manager from an affiliated company abroad, open to any nationality.
L-1 vs E-2O-1A
For founders with a record of acclaim, with no investment and no nationality list.
O-1 vs E-2EB-5
The investor green card, with a fixed minimum and ten US jobs to create.
EB-5 visa
A green card
comes separately.
The E-2 does not become a green card. Investors move on through a separate category, such as the EB-5 when the same business grows to the investor threshold. E-2 status can continue while that case is pending.
Map the E-2 green card routesWhere the money goes.
Three parts, before the investment itself. One applicant at a consulate starts from $9,815.
- Attorney fee$8,000
Case strategy, the source-of-funds trail and exhibits, the forms, and interview preparation.
Attorney fees are set independently by licensed attorneys.
- Government feesFrom $315
Consular applicants pay the visa fee per person. A change of status inside the US pays the USCIS petition fees instead, with premium processing as an option.
- Paid separatelyVaries
Translations, the business plan writer, and any reciprocity fee your nationality carries.
E-2 Visa
Common Questions.
Yes. The E-2 gives a temporary stay to run a US business, renewed for as long as the business qualifies. The investor keeps an intention to leave when the status ends. A green card comes only through a separate immigrant category filed on its own.
Only treaty nationals qualify, and the money goes in before filing, where it stays at risk if the visa is refused. The investor has to keep control and run the company, every renewal tests the business again, and the E-2 itself leads to no green card.
Any lawful business that sells goods or services and can grow past the owner’s living costs. Franchises, purchases of a running business, and service firms with staff are common. Passive holdings such as rental real estate or an idle company do not qualify, however much money they hold.
No. The E-2 asks for no degree and sets no age limit, and retirees who invest and run a business qualify on the same terms. What decides the case is the investment, the business, and the investor’s control of it.
Yes, in practice. The E-2 is for directing and developing the business, so the investor is expected to be based in the US and running it. Trips abroad are normal, but long absences with no business reason raise questions at the next renewal.
Yes. No immigration rule stops an E-2 holder from buying a home in the US. The house does not count toward the E-2 investment, because the money has to go into the business itself. Owning a US home does not on its own decide the intent to leave, which turns on the plan to depart when the status ends.
E-2 status rests on the business, so when it stops operating, the basis for staying ends. The investor then leaves the US or moves to another status. A business that falls far short of its original plan can also fail at renewal, even while it still trades.
Look for an attorney who files E-2 cases regularly, not a general immigration practice that handles one now and then. Each consulate has its own package rules and expectations. imigOS lists the attorneys who take E-2 cases, and a consultation can be booked with one there.
USCIS · 9 FAM 402.9 · State Dept
USCIS: E-2 Treaty Investors · US Department of State: Treaty Trader & Investor Visas (E)
2–6 months
$9,800–$13,800
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USARun your E-2 in one place.
See where you stand in about 3 minutes, then prepare the case with a licensed attorney on imigOS.