Our New York business immigration lawyers cover all types of visas. If you’re seeking an E-2 Investment Visa, we’re here for you.

Breaking News: Israeli Investors Eligible for E-2 Investor Status!

An investment visa, also called the E-2 visa, allows an individual to enter and work inside of the United States based on their claim of an investment opportunity, or investment they will be controlling during their stay. E-2 visas that are granted are generally decided upon the dollar amount of cash investment that will be made, this number is often not less than $50,000, although exceptions have been made.

Who is eligible to apply for an E-2 visa?

Only nationals of companies with whom the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation will be eligible to seek admission through an E-2 visa. To be eligible for this form of visa, the national will be required to be investing a substantial amount of money in the American economy. This can be done if the petitioner is currently a lawful nonimmigrant in the country by filing out Form I-129. If they are not currently in the country, their employer may file on their behalf.

Qualifications of Applying as a Treaty Investor

The following qualifications must be met for an investor to apply for an E-2 visa:

• Be a national of a treaty country
• Have invested or being investing in American enterprise(s)
• Seeking admission to develop investments

To show that you have intentions to develop investments, the treaty investor must have a 50% ownership of the enterprise or hold some form of management. In some cases, the employee of a treaty investor will also be able to apply for an E-2 investor.

They will need to meet the following requirements:

• Be of the same nationality as their treaty investor employer
• Be formally and legally considered an employee
• Engaging in executive or supervision roles
• If not, must display special qualifications

If granted an E-2 visa, the treaty investor and / or employees, will be allowed to stay for a maximum time frame of two years. After this up, they will be able to apply for an extension of exactly two years. There is no limit as to how many times an extension can be sought, however, they must show intentions to eventually leave the United States – they cannot intend to stay within the country forever.

NY Visa Lawyers – Helping Treaty Investors with E-2 Visas

When you need an investment visa, there is sometimes a very short window of opportunity in order to obtain the visa, travel to your destination and partake in the investment opportunity. Sometimes these opportunities arise suddenly and must be capitalized on immediately. Unfortunately, not all businessmen have an investment visa on hand that is valid and ready to be used, and the process to obtain one can be difficult and tedious. At our firm, we can help ensure all paperwork is filled out accurately and on time. Contact a New York business immigration attorney at our firm to learn how we can help protect your investment opportunities.