The E-2 Visa
By Maud Poudat | US Board Certified Immigration Attorney
Posted: December 7, 2015
The E-2 Visa procedure is consular, which means that the intending E-2 investor will have to defend his or her application with an officer of an US Consulate or Embassy. Therefore, this file has to be put in a certain order, demonstrate certain points, and be supported by specific documentation. Although the processes for submission of E-2 Visa applications are changing in certain Embassies, the requirements and the proofs the officer will seek remain unchanged.
Before sending the E-2 Visa Application
Your Immigration lawyer will provide you extensive assistance to gather the supporting documentation, and will put the file together in the way the Consular officer will want to see it. This documentation will cover different aspects of your E-2 Visa project: the nationality of your company, show that it is already running or ready to start running, the origin of the funds you will be using to open or buy it, that those funds have been invested, and that you have a solid business plan. But of course, you will first have to find the company in which you are willing to invest.
Buy or create a company?
Some investors have a precise idea of the kind of business they want to have in the US, some others dream about creating their own company here, and some others don’t have any requirements on that part. All the solutions are equal in the light of immigration law: you won’t get obvious advantage in opting for one or the other of those options in regard of the evaluation of your E-2 Visa file by the officer. As long as the application meets the criteria and that the intending investor defends correctly his or her project during the interview at the US Embassy or Consulate. Meanwhile, whichever option you might choose, we strongly recommend that you seek assistance from a qualified business broker to help you find a reliable business to buy, or help you create one according to the local modalities. Also, the business plan will be an important part of your application file, therefore we always advise our clients to seek assistance from an experienced business plan writer.
Creation of your E-2 Visa Company
If you either buy an existing company or create one, you will have to proceed to the legal creation of your company. The administrative procedure may differ in each State but this step will have to be taken first, in order to show the officer that you run –or intend to run- an existing company. This stage will also be required for the creation of the company’s Bank account, which is crucial in the demonstration of your active investments.
Investments in your E-2 Visa Company
The intending investor has to show the officer that the company is currently running or is ready to start its activity. This requirement is closely linked to the proofs that the investments have actually been made (purchase of furniture or equipment, commercial lease, contract with costumers, etc.). Of course, those documents will have to be discussed for each case individually, but you will find general information about his topic on our page dedicated to the E-2 visa page on our website.
Origin of the funds of your investment
Reviewing your E-2 Visa application, the Consular officer will take a very close look to the origin of the funds you have invested in your US Company. There is no requirement about a specific origin of the funds, as long as your file shows their traceability, thus their legality. For instance, the funds can come from the sale of a business, of an estate, from termination indemnity or other allowance, from an heritage, as well as a donation, and of course savings.
But whichever provenance of the funds, you will have to show that you legally and currently possess them and that those funds have been transferred to the US before you submitted your E-2 Visa application.
Your experienced immigration lawyer will guide you through this procedure, build the file and brief you before the interview with the officer. At the Law Office of Maud Poudat we have an extensive experience of E-2 Visa applications, as well as a 100% approbation rate: call us today to start your E-2 project with us!
