E-2 Visa for an IT Consulting Business: French Consultant, New York - USD 60,000 Escrowed Investment
Client nationality: French
Industry: IT consulting
Visa type: E-2 treaty investor
Location: New York
Consulate: US Embassy, Paris
Investment: USD 60,000 in escrow, plus 12 months' rent paid in advance
Synopsis
A French IT consultant with more than six years of experience set up his own IT consulting business in New York. Its first clients were five companies owned by a New York entrepreneur who wanted to outsource part of his IT function.
The consultant owns the US company outright and funded it with USD 60,000 of his own money, held in escrow. His E-2 visa was approved at the US Embassy in Paris.
I. Executive Summary
The matter came to us from a New York entrepreneur with five separately incorporated businesses. He wanted a French IT specialist to take over the management of part of his IT work, and the employment routes were a poor fit.
H-1B numbers are capped and allocated once a year, and new petitions for people outside the United States have been caught up in litigation over a USD 100,000 payment. The consultant had not worked for a related company abroad, so the L-1 was not available.
The consultant wanted a business of his own, and as a French national he could use the E-2. He became our E-2 client. He formed an IT consulting firm that he owns outright, and the entrepreneur's businesses became its first clients, each under its own contract.
Our team in La Défense advised him in France and worked with our E-2 team in London on the structure. In New York, our corporate lawyer formed the company and drafted the consulting contracts.
II. The Core Challenge: An Independent Consulting Business
An officer reading this file would want to know whether the business was truly the consultant's, or an employment relationship under another name. The file answered that through ownership, the source of the money and the contracts.
Ownership and control
The consultant owns 100% of the company and is its sole director and officer. The entrepreneur holds no shares, no board seat, no option and no veto. Any reserved right in a client's hands, even approval of major contracts, would have invited the question of who was really directing the business.
Where the money came from
The USD 60,000 was the consultant's own money. Part of it came from an up-front payment the entrepreneur made to him outright, with no obligation to repay it, no offset against future invoices and no right to shares in the new company.
Under 9 FAM 402.9-6(B) the money can come from savings, a gift or another lawful source, provided the investor possesses and controls it. The file traced each step with bank statements: the payment into his personal account, and the transfer from that account into escrow.
The client contracts
Each of the five businesses is a separate company and signed its own consulting contract, setting out the services, the fees and each side's responsibilities. The firm delivers the work through its own staff, under its owner's direction, and invoices each client for the services it provides.
III. How the IT Consulting Business Met the E-2 Requirements
Substantiality
An IT consultancy costs little to start, and under 9 FAM 402.9-6(D) the lower the cost of the business, the higher the share of it the investor must fund. Here the investor funded the start-up costs and the first year of operations. The USD 60,000 was held in escrow, conditioned on E-2 approval and returnable to him only if the visa was refused.
Once the visa was approved, it could be drawn only against legitimate business expenses, such as payroll, as they arose, and could never simply be withdrawn. That put the money to work in the business and left it at risk of loss if the business failed.
The company also paid 12 months' rent in advance for office space it subleased from the entrepreneur, and took over the IT equipment and software licenses it needed for the work.
A real, operating business
At the interview the company was incorporated in New York, had premises with a year's rent paid, had its equipment and software in place, and held signed contracts with five clients.
Marginality
The business must be able to earn more than a bare living for the investor and family, or make a significant economic contribution (9 FAM 402.9-6(E)).
As the consultant took over management of part of the entrepreneur's IT work, a member of that IT team left and was hired by the new firm, and the firm took on an accounting clerk to run its own books. With two employees, five client contracts and a single applicant to support, the business showed the capacity the rule requires.
Investment breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Escrow conditioned on E-2 approval, then spent only on payroll and operating costs | USD 60,000 |
| Office rent under sublease | 12 months paid in advance |
| IT equipment and software licenses | In place at filing |
Lessons for E-2 consulting business applicants
When the employment routes do not fit, a consultant who wants a business of his own may be able to use the E-2. It works only if the business is genuinely his: he owns and controls it and he directs the work. A company that exists only to place one person with one customer will not pass.
Document every step of the money. In our experience, money received outright from a third party, even a future client, can form part of the investment if the investor owns and controls it without conditions. The officer must be able to see that from the documents.
Write a separate contract for each client business, setting out the services, fees and responsibilities. Use escrow terms that release the funds on E-2 approval, return them only if the visa is refused, and allow them to be spent only on business expenses, and be ready to show at interview how much has been spent and on what.
For the wider rules, see our guide for consulting firms moving to the United States, and our E-2 visa guide for French citizens.
About the Authors
Mark I Davies, Esq.
Chairman of Davies & Associates; focused on E visa strategy and complex consular filings.
Mark I Davies, Esq. JD, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Licensed with the SRA (SRA ID: 384468) in the UK, Member Law Society of England & Wales, MBA, Wharton School of Business. Named a Top 25 EB-5 Immigration Attorney by EB5 Investors Magazine.
Ranked Band 1 for E-2 visas in Singapore by Global Citizenship Services (2026). Admitted to practice in Georgia (USA), Georgia State Bar. AILA Member.
| Area | Details |
|---|---|
| Education | JD, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School | MBA (Finance), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania | Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) |
| Financial Training | Completed Analyst Training Program at a major international bank | Chartered Accountant background with professional training in financial analysis and reporting |
| Legal Practice | Admitted to practice in Georgia (USA) | Registered Solicitor with the Law Society of England & Wales | Former CMBS lawyer at one of the world’s largest international law firms |
| Immigration Track Record | 15+ years advising HNW investors | While, as of October 21, 2026, the firm has never had an EB-5 case denied on the basis of its source-of-funds work, there can never be a guarantee of future success. | Hundreds of successful EB-5 cases globally |
| Recognition | Named a Top 25 EB-5 Immigration Attorney by EB5 Investors Magazine (2018–2023 and 2026) |
| Professional Engagements | Lecturer/trainer for other lawyers at AILA, ACA, University of Pennsylvania Law School | Frequent speaker at global investment immigration conferences |
