In this video, our immigration attorney at Borderwise Solutions answers the 13 most common questions on the E2 Visa. The E2 Visa is very popular immigration in the USA option for investors. Below is the list of the immigration E-2 Investor Visa questions we answer in this video:

What is the E2 Visa?
How do you qualify for an E2 visa?
What does Nationality refer to in an E2 visa?
How do I know if my country is an E2 visa treaty country?
What is the 50% rule in an E2 visa?
What qualifies as a substantial investment for the E2 visa?
What does it mean that the funds have to be at risk an E2 visa?
What are the benefits of an E2 visa?
How long can I stay in the USA on an E2 visa?
Can I renew my E-2 visa stamp while in the USA?
Are there any travel restrictions for an E2 visa?
Can I bring my dependents on an E-2 visa?
Can my dependents work under E2 visa status?

For an immigration consultation, please call Borderwise Solutions at 407-910-4770.

Visit Borderwise Solutions website

DISCLAIMER

This video is intended for educational purposes and should not be taken as legal or tax advice. You should consult with your financial and immigration professionals about your unique financial and immigration situation before acting on anything discussed in these videos. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc. and Borderwise Solutions International Inc. is providing educational content to help small business owners become more aware of certain issues and topics, but we cannot give blanket advice to a broad audience. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc., nor Borderwise Solutions International Inc., or its members cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of this content

What is an E2 Visa?

An E2 visa is a U.S. work visa for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to start or run a business in the United States. To qualify, the applicant must be from a country that has a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States, and must have invested or be in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S.-based enterprise.

The E2 visa allows the holder to live and work in the United States for as long as their business venture remains active. The spouse and minor children of an E2 visa holder are also eligible for visas, and may live and study in the United States but are not authorized to work.

The E2 visa has been called the ” Entrepreneur’s Visa” because it provides foreign entrepreneurs with a way to start and grow their businesses in the United States.

Video Transcript

Carlos: In this video, we’re going to talk about the 13 most common questions that we get here at Borderwise Solutions, about the E-2 Immigration business visa. Hello from Freedom Tax Accounting, we’re an accounting firm where we have been providing quality tax and accounting services now for over 20 years. As you know, freedom tax is also part of Freedom Group. We are a group of four companies where we not only provide tax and accounting services, we also provide immigration, real estate insurance and financial planning services. In this video, we’re going to talk about the 13 most common questions that we get at Borderwise Solutions about the E-2 immigration visa. To help us out, I’m going to bring in our immigration attorney, Roberta Montalvo. How are you, Roberto?

Rob: I’m good Carlos, how are you?

Carlos: Good. Good. Robbie. So basically, in this video, we’re going to discuss the 13 most common questions about the E-2 visa. The first one is what exactly is the E-2 visa?

Rob: Well, the E-2 visa is a treaty investor visa, which is also a nonimmigrant visa and allows foreign entrepreneurs from specific treaty nations to enter the US to develop and direct an enterprise that they have invested in.

Carlos: Okay, and how do you actually qualify for the E-2 visa?

Rob: Well, there are some specific basic requirements that must be fulfilled, a treaty must exist between the US and the foreign country to which investors a national love must have 50% ownership of the business.

Carlos: Okay.

Rob: Must be coming to develop and direct the business. The national of the treaty country must own at least 50% of the stock of the US company that’s created for this, okay, the investments made by the company must be at risk, considered substantial, and the investments must be more than just a marginal one. In other words, the investment or business should have the ability of supporting more than just the investment, it’s family. The funds invested are also in the investor’s sole possession and control and the US business must be a real legitimate operating business.

Carlos: Okay. Now, you mentioned national nationality. What does nationality refer to?

Rob: It refers to the citizenship of the investor, the treaty investor must possess the nationality of a specific treaty country, the nationality of the individual is determined by the authorities of the country to which he claims nationality being said, like being a citizen of a specific country or having a lawful residence in that company.

Carlos: Okay. And you also mentioned that they need to fulfill the 50% rule. What is the 50% to rule for the E-2 visa?

Rob: That refers that the nationals of the treaty country must own at least 50% of the business in question, this can be determined by looking at the ownership of the company shares of stock, if the business being invested is owned by another company, at least 50% of the parent company must be owned by nationals of the treaty country.

Carlos: Okay. You also mentioned that the investment needs to be a substantial investment. What does that mean?

Rob: There’s no hard and fast rule to the exact amount that substantial means, but in a proportional sense, it’s in relation to the total cost of either purchasing or creating the new company, it has to be sufficient to ensure that the investors financial commitment to the success of this company is clarified, the magnitude of the support the likelihood, and they don’t like I said, they don’t really set $1 figure, but in my experience, it’d be around 100, 000 to 150, 000, like a minimum investment. But it all depends on what type of business it is. It’s a very large business, it will require more if it’s a small business could require a little less.

Carlos: Okay, perfect. And one of the most common questions we also get here is that you have said that these funds have to be at risk. What does that mean?

Rob: That means that you can’t just park the money in a bank account or purchase like real estate, because that would be considered an investment, but it would not be considered specifically at risk. Also, you can’t just purchase stock in other companies or use it like a stock trading company. Specifically, those funds would just be considered investment but not at risk. At risk would be more like purchasing, inventory, utility expenses, rent, money that’s being spent to further the business.

Carlos: Okay. Okay, perfect. And obviously, there are some benefits to the E-2 visa. What are the benefits for the E-2 visa?

Rob: Well, you get to work legally in the US for the company that’s making the investment. You get to travel freely in and out of the US. You stay on a prolonged basis with two years extensions and you can bring your dependents and accompany relative and your spouse may also work in the US.

Carlos: Okay, so if people come in through the E-2 visa how long can they stay in the US via the E-2 visa?

Rob: You can stay for a prolonged basis with the unlimited five-year visa renewals or two-year status extension. As long as you maintain your E two qualifications, there’s no limit on the number of extensions you can apply for.

Carlos: Okay, and talking about the E two renewal. Another question is, can I renew E-2 visa stamps while in the US?

Rob: No, you can only renew a passport visa stamp at an embassy or consulate which is located outside of the US.

Carlos: Okay. And then another common question is, are there any travel restrictions for an E-2 visa?

Rob: No, there are no travel restrictions. You can travel freely in and out of the United States.

Carlos: Okay. And then the other common question we get is can I bring my dependents on an E-2 visa?

Rob: Yes, you may bring your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 along with you.

Carlos: Okay. And can the dependents work under the E-2 visa?

Rob: Your spouse can apply for work authorization but your children cannot? They can attend school but they’d have to change status to be able to work.

Carlos: Okay, perfect. So basically, if anyone is interested in getting an E2 visa, what do they need to do?

Rob: Just call Borderwise Solutions 407-910-4770.

Carlos: Perfect. So, thank you for watching this video. These are the 13 most common questions that we get here at borderwise solutions, concerning the E-2 visa for immigration. Once again, you can contact freedom, immigration. I am putting a link to the borderwise solutions website in the description of this video. You can also call Borderwise Solutions for a consultation at 407-910-4770. Okay, Robbie, thank you for the information. Okay.

Rob: It was a pleasure, Carlos.

Carlos: All right. Bye-bye.

Rob: Bye.