E-2 Visa to the US
For investors and founders worldwide who want to buy or build a US business and run it themselves on the ground — if their country holds an E-2 treaty with the US.
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The E-2 visa lets a national of a treaty country buy or build a US business, invest a substantial amount of capital, and come to the US to direct and develop that business themselves. The threshold question is your passport: the E-2 is open only to nationals of countries that hold a qualifying treaty of commerce with the United States. Many — though not all — countries are on that list, and the US State Department publishes it. For those who qualify, the appeal is real: there is no annual cap, no traditional employer needs to act as petitioner — the investment enterprise itself takes that role — and the visa can be renewed indefinitely as long as the investment remains viable.
This page sets out who the E-2 fits, how the process runs step by step, which pieces of evidence actually decide a case in practice, what government fees and legal fees to expect, and when a different program is the better route.
- Open only to nationals of E-2 treaty countries — check your country on the State Department list before anything else
- Requires a substantial, active investment and a controlling interest (at least 50% or a managerial role)
- Substantiality is proportional; the capital must be “at risk” and the source of funds fully documented
- No annual cap; renewable indefinitely in increments of up to five years
- No direct green card path; spouses are work-authorized by status and children under 21 come along
- For permanent residence assess EB-5; for a transfer from a corporate group assess L-1
This page is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. We assess the governing requirements against your own situation.
Who is the E-2 visa for?
The E-2 is for treaty-country nationals who make a substantial, economically active investment in a US business and run it themselves — not for purely passive investors.
Three points are decisive: nationality of a treaty country, a substantial investment large enough to influence the success of the business, and a controlling interest — the investor must hold at least 50% or exercise operational control through a managerial position. A pure real-estate or securities investment is not enough; the capital must go into an active, operating commercial enterprise.
Eligibility depends on your passport, not your residence. The E-2 is available only to nationals of countries that hold a qualifying treaty of commerce with the United States. The State Department maintains the authoritative list of treaty countries, and many European countries are on it — but confirm your own nationality against that list before you plan around the E-2. If your country is not a treaty country, EB-5 or L-1 may still be open to you.
Kari Foss-Persson, US-licensed attorney in Frankfurt: “Most investors underestimate how much rides on control and on the business being genuinely active. A bare capital stake is not enough — you must really direct the business, and it must have real economic substance. Bring your cap table to the first call: if a co-investor holds more than half, we need to solve that before we touch the business plan, not after.”
Once your passport clears the treaty-country requirement, the case turns entirely on whether the investment is substantial, active and controlling — not on where you come from.
A genuine start-up, evidenced properly, carries the E-2 as readily as a purchase does — as one founder’s case shows.
- Situation
- The owner of a mid-sized German GmbH founded a Delaware Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary and invested substantial capital in build-out, premises and staff, but had an old ESTA denial on file from a prior visit.
- Approach
- Set up as an active, operating commercial enterprise, substantiality shown relative to start-up costs, the ownership chain from the GmbH to the Delaware Inc. documented cleanly, and the ESTA history addressed head-on in the interview brief rather than left for the officer to find.
- Outcome
- E-2 issued after a Frankfurt consulate interview with no further follow-up; the spouse was then work-authorized by status.
Our practice in numbers
What counts as a “substantial” investment — and what is marginality?
Substantiality is not measured against a fixed sum but against the ratio of the investment to the total cost of the business — the cheaper the enterprise, the higher the proportion you must commit.
The US State Department applies a proportionality test to whether an investment is substantial: for a low-cost business — a small service or trading operation — the investment must come close to 100% of the acquisition or start-up cost. For an expensive business a smaller percentage suffices, as long as the absolute amount is substantial. There is no statutory minimum, but in practice investments below roughly USD 100,000 are hard to present as substantial.
Two criteria are frequently overlooked:
- At risk
- The funds must be irrevocably committed to the enterprise and exposed to commercial risk. Money sitting in a company account that the investor can freely draw on does not count as invested. Binding purchase agreements, deposits, leases, purchased equipment and build-out already paid for do count.
- Marginality
- The business must not be merely marginal — it cannot exist only to earn a living for the investor and their family. It must show the capacity, within a foreseeable period (usually five years), to generate significantly more income or to make a clear economic contribution, for instance by employing staff. A viable five-year business plan with revenue and hiring projections is the central piece of evidence here.
For a genuine start-up with no operating history, the business plan decides the case. It must credibly explain why the business will clear the marginality threshold — not merely assert that it will.
How do you prove the source of funds?
The origin and the unbroken path of the invested capital must be documented — missing or unclear source-of-funds evidence is one of the most common reasons an E-2 is refused.
The consular officer checks not only that an investment was made but where the money came from and that it was lawfully acquired. In practice this means a closed chain of evidence from origin to the US business account. Typical documentation:
- Origin of the wealth: payslips, proceeds from selling a business or property, dividends, inheritance or gift — each backed by tax assessments or notarized deeds
- Transfer path: bank statements showing the flow from the source account, through any intermediate steps, to the company’s US account without gaps
- Use in the business: invoices, purchase and lease agreements, and payment records showing the capital is actually committed to the enterprise
Loans can serve as a source of investment, but they must not be secured by the assets of the investment enterprise itself — a loan secured by the purchased business shifts the risk away from the investor and therefore does not count.
The most common practical error is cash or transfers without a documented origin. If a single payment in the chain is not supported by evidence, the whole showing wobbles. Assemble the evidence chain before you file.
Even a mixed source of capital can be documented cleanly when each strand is traced — as one investor’s case shows.
- Situation
- An Italian national resident in Germany financed a share purchase in a US technology business partly from savings, partly from selling a property in Italy, and partly from a gift from her parents.
- Approach
- Closed the evidence chain for each source of capital — matched German tax assessments, a notarized Italian sale deed and a gift deed, and traced the transfer path through bank statements all the way to the US account, flagging the cross-border gift early since it is the strand consulates query most.
- Outcome
- E-2 issued with no source-of-funds follow-up at the Frankfurt interview.
How does the E-2 process work, step by step?
The process depends on where you are: from abroad the application runs directly through the US mission that handles E-visas for your country, from inside the US through USCIS. For applicants living outside the US the usual path is the consular route.
- 1
Case and investment review
We check your nationality, the planned investment, the corporate structure and whether a controlling interest is in place.
- 2
Set up the investment and business plan
The capital is irrevocably committed or invested, and a viable five-year business plan shows the business is meant to earn more than a living.
- 3
DS-160 and application documents
The applicant files the DS-160 together with Form DS-156E and full documentation of the investment, the source of funds, the business plan and their role in the business.
- 4
Interview at the US mission
The in-person interview takes place at the US embassy or consulate that processes E-visas for your country; many missions run a dedicated E-visa unit with a document package submitted in advance. The consular officer decides on issuance.
- 5
Entry and running the business
With the E-2 you enter and direct the investment enterprise. Spouses are work-authorized by status.
Many US missions centralize E-visa processing and run their own procedural track, with a document package submitted in advance — confirm the exact route for the post that serves your country. Initial validity ranges from two to five years, depending on the treaty. The visa can be renewed indefinitely in increments of up to five years as long as the investment remains in place and the business continues to meet all requirements. E-2 holders may work only within their own investment enterprise.
Buying an existing operation and running it yourself is a common E-2 route — as one couple’s case shows.
- Situation
- A Norwegian couple sold their small transport company in Norway and wanted to take over an existing US laundromat chain of three locations and run it themselves with their two teenage children in tow, but the husband had a B-2 visa refusal on file from years earlier as a backpacking student.
- Approach
- Purchase agreement and a EUR 180,000 capital commitment documented as irrevocably at risk, controlling interest through a US LLC evidenced, the prior refusal addressed directly in the interview brief rather than left for the officer to raise, and the source of funds traced from the Norwegian business sale through to the US account.
- Outcome
- E-2 issued for the initial treaty term at the US mission in Oslo, entry and start of management for both spouses.
Renewal, spouse and family
The E-2 can be renewed without a time limit, and since a 2021 policy change the spouse is work-authorized by status — with no separate application for an employment authorization document.
At each renewal the officer checks whether the investment remains in place, the controlling interest is intact, and the business still clears the marginality threshold. Anyone abroad who needs a renewed visa stamp goes through the consular process again; anyone inside the US can extend E-2 status through USCIS (this extends the status, not the travel stamp in the passport). Key family points:
- Spouse: work-authorized by E status since November 2021; the I-94 carries a notation so that for many purposes no separate employment authorization is required
- Children: unmarried children under 21 receive derivative E-2 status and may attend school, but may not work
- Age-out: children lose derivative status on turning 21 or on marrying and then need their own visa basis — something to plan for early with teenage children
The E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa with no direct green card path. Anyone aiming for permanent residence from the outset should assess in parallel whether EB-5 or an employment-based route is the better structure.
Common pitfalls
Most E-2 refusals fail not on nationality but on avoidable evidence gaps in the investment, the source of funds or the business plan.
- Capital not “at risk”: money sits in the company account but is not irrevocably committed. The officer expects the bulk of the funds already tied up in purchase agreements, equipment, lease or staff.
- Gaps in the source of funds: a single undocumented payment in the transfer chain can devalue the entire showing.
- Marginal business: an operation that clearly only supports a living, with no prospect of higher earnings or employment, does not meet the threshold.
- Unclear control: with several shareholders, the controlling interest (at least 50% or a managerial role) must be cleanly documented.
- Loan secured wrongly: a loan secured by the investment enterprise itself does not count as the applicant’s investment.
- Thin business plan: without solid revenue and hiring projections there is no proof that the marginality threshold is cleared.
When is EB-5 or L-1 the better route?
The E-2 is not always the right choice — for permanent residence, or for a transfer from an existing corporate group, EB-5 or L-1 often fit better.
In short: if you want the green card from the outset, look at EB-5; if you are transferring from an existing company, look at L-1 (with an EB-1C path for executives); if you are putting your own capital actively into a US operation and can live with a temporary but indefinitely renewable status, the E-2 is the right fit. In the first consultation we place your case against these routes before we start assembling anything.
What does the E-2 visa and the consultation cost?
Government fees for an E-2 case start from roughly USD 315; the legal fee is a flat rate agreed after the first consultation, depending on case complexity and starting position.
A consular E-2 application carries the visa application fee; depending on the treaty there may be additional costs for visa issuance and biometric services, whose amount depends on the specific treaty agreement. Not included in the government fees are the costs of preparing the business plan and assembling the investment documentation — both of which are typically substantial work on an E-2. The legal fee is a flat price covering the whole process from case review to the interview — no hourly billing, no hidden costs. You receive the full cost breakdown before any work begins.
The consultation costs EUR 75 (plus VAT) for 30 minutes and is credited in full toward your fee if you engage us. In it we clarify whether your investment reaches the E-2 threshold, how the corporate structure should look, and what documents the consular route requires.
Kari Foss-Persson, US-licensed attorney in Frankfurt: “The E-2 is rarely decided on the treaty-country requirement once your passport qualifies. It is decided on whether the investment is genuinely substantial and active, and on whether the source of funds is cleanly documented. If any part of your capital moved through a gift or an inheritance, start collecting the paperwork now — that is the strand consulates come back to ask about.”
Frequently asked questions
Quoted before work begins
Investor visa cases are quoted at a flat rate that covers the entire legal process. We provide a full cost breakdown — including government fees, which are substantial for EB-5 cases — before any work begins.
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