Obtaining an E1 or E2 visa to invest in the USA

While a simple ESTA is all you need for a vacation or business trip to the U.S., living and working in the U.S. requires a visa. There are several types of visa to suit all situations. In this article, we’ll look at the E1 visa (business visa) and the E2 visa (investor visa).

What are E1 and E2 visas?

In many cases, the decision to move to the USA is taken for professional reasons. However, working in the USA is not as simple as it sounds, and requires an appropriate visa. Investor and Trade Agreement visas (E1 and E2 visas) enable citizens of countries that have accepted and signed trade agreements with the USA to work, invest and run a business in the country. Nationals of the following countries are also eligible to apply for E1/E2 visas:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia.

The E1 visa authorizes a citizen who has signed the trade agreements put in place by the US government to trade between his or her country and the USA from US soil, while the E2 visa is granted to people investing in the creation or purchase of a business on US territory.

Applications for E1 and E2 visas are made through the consular services of the American embassy or consulate in the applicant’s country. The French embassy is located in Paris. You will need to compile a file, including form DS-160, and submit it to the embassy. You will then be contacted by the embassy to schedule an interview with an embassy official to assess the relevance of your visa application. Following this interview, you will receive a reply. If the decision is positive, your visa will be issued within 3 to 5 days.

If you are refused an E1 or E2 visa, you can apply for a green-card, which is the American permanent resident card. You can apply for a green card, or take part in the annual green card lottery. However, you are formally prohibited from carrying out any professional activity on American soil with only an ESTA or a non-immigrant visa such as the J1 visa. The American authorities are intransigent and very vigilant about illegal immigration, and you could find yourself in an extremely delicate situation.

If you wish to obtain an E1 or E2 visa, you must first ensure that you have a valid passport and that you meet the requirements for obtaining one of these visas.

E1 and E2 visa requirements

There are different requirements for E1 and E2 visas.

Conditions for obtaining an E1 visa

• Both the applicant’s U.S.-based company and the applicant must be a national of a treaty country;
• commercial exchanges must be “considerable”, there must be a fairly large and continuous volume of business;
• trade within the company must be mainly between the USA and the country covered by the agreement (more than 50% of trade must be with the USA);
• the visa applicant must have executive status and highly specialized skills, as for the H1-B visa.

Conditions for obtaining an E2 visa

• the investor (either an individual or a
  legal entity) must be a citizen of a country that is party to the convention.
• the investment must be substantial and sufficient to ensure the company’s long-term future.
• the investment must not be speculative or dormant.
• the investment must generate considerably more income
  than is required to support the investor and his family.
• the applicant must either be one of the principal investors or
  or be employed as an executive. He or she must come to the United States to
  develop and manage the company.

The E1 or E2 visa allows the visa holder’s family to live and work on the other side of the Atlantic. In addition, allows children to study in the USA. Concerning the validity period of the E-1 or E-2 visa, the visa holder will be able to renew it as long as the company exists and meets the conditions for obtaining it. At present, there is no renewal limit.