🇬🇧 Looking for the UK application process? This page covers the general E-2 process for all treaty countries. UK nationals applying through the U.S. Embassy in London should use our dedicated step-by-step E-2 guide for UK nationals, which covers the London E-Visa Unit's specific procedure.
🇫🇷 Applying through Paris? French investors and France-based applicants should review our dedicated E-2 visa lawyer Paris guide for the U.S. Embassy in Paris submission format, document review and interview preparation.
Six stages, and the first two are decisions rather than paperwork — get those wrong and the rest does not matter.
Open any stage for what happens, what it costs, how long it takes, and where cases most often fail.
Full step-by-step detail follows further down this page.
Typical end-to-end: 2 to 4 months from filing to visa in hand, or 3 to 6 months including company formation and document preparation
1Confirm you actually qualifyDecision
Before you spend anything, four tests decide whether an E-2 is open to you at all. Officers weigh them together rather than as a checklist, but failing any one of them ends the application.
Treaty nationality. Your country must hold a qualifying treaty with the US. This is about nationality, not residence — living somewhere does not help you
Ownership and control. You must own at least 50% and be coming to direct and develop the business
A substantial investment. There is no fixed minimum. Officers apply a proportionality test against the total cost of the business
Not marginal. The enterprise must have the present or future capacity to generate more than a minimal living, generally within about five years
⚠ Where this most often fails: nationality. India and China are not E-2 treaty countries, and no amount of investment changes that. (The United Kingdom is a treaty country — under the 1815 treaty with the US, covering both E-1 and E-2 — but the treaty applies only to UK nationals from British territory in Europe, so other British passport classes should confirm eligibility rather than assume it.) Some applicants without treaty nationality qualify through citizenship by investment in Grenada or Turkey, which is a legitimate and well-trodden route — but it has its own timeline and a domicile requirement, so it needs deciding now rather than later.
2Choose your route — consular or change of statusDecision
This is the most consequential choice on the page, and it is difficult to undo. It determines what you end up holding, how fast you get it, and whether you can travel.
Consular Processing
Apply from outside the US, at your home or lawful-residence post
Result: a full E-2 visa — valid for travel and re-entry
Filed directly with the consulate on Form DS-160 — USCIS is not involved at all
No premium processing exists on this route
Commonly 2–4 months, varying widely by post
Change of Status
Only if you are already lawfully present in the US
Result: E-2 status only — no visa stamp in your passport
Premium processing available: 15 business days for $2,965
2–3 months standard, or about 3–6 weeks with premium processing
⚠ The change of status travel trap: status is not a visa. The moment you leave the United States that status ends, and to return you must apply at a consulate anyway — running the consular timeline in full, on top of what you already paid. If international travel is any part of your business, consular processing is usually the better route from the start.
Consulate choice matters too. Where you have a genuine choice of post, it can move your timeline by months, and each consulate applies its own filing format and evidentiary emphasis. Dual nationals have a further decision: the passport you apply on sets both your reciprocity fee and your visa validity, and the difference can run to thousands of dollars and years of validity.
The longest stage you control, and the one that decides the outcome. The consulate reads your file before you ever speak, so the case has to argue itself on paper.
Form the US entity and open the business bank account
Commit the investment and evidence the spend: lease, equipment, inventory, payroll
Document the source of funds end to end — bank statements, tax returns, sale contracts, certified translations
Build the business plan, the document officers scrutinise most closely
Package it to the local format: page limits vary by post, at 50 pages in Paris and 70 in Toronto
⚠ Common denial trigger: funds merely sitting in a business bank account are not “at risk”. They must be spent or irrevocably committed — for example through a correctly structured escrow — before you file.
The administrative step, and the quickest. Form DS-160 is the online nonimmigrant visa application; submitting it produces the confirmation barcode you need before an interview can be booked.
Have this ready before you start
Passport
Travel plans — even rough ones
US contact details, often your US business or your attorney
Save your Application ID immediately — you cannot recover the form without it
The fee
The DS-160 (MRV) fee for an E-2 application is currently USD 315
Paid before the interview is booked, and not refunded if the visa is refused
Reciprocity fees are not paid at this stage — they fall due only after approval, and vary enormously by nationality. See stage 6
Premium processing ($2,965) does not exist on this route. It is available only on change of status
The exact process varies by consulate. It is always worth checking with an E-2 lawyer who files at your particular post frequently, because filing formats, document order and pre-screening steps are set locally rather than centrally.
🇬🇧 Applying from the UK? The London E-Visa Unit has its own document format, submission process and pre-screening procedure. Follow our dedicated step-by-step guide for UK nationals rather than the general process on this page.
5The consulate reviews your case2 weeks – 4 months
The longest and least predictable stage, and the one that really sets your total timeline. The E-visa unit adjudicates the business case on paper before any interview is offered — which is why the quality of stage 3 matters more than anything you say later.
Consular officers weigh your submitted evidence alongside your interview answers, so the two have to tell the same story. Different consulates — and different officers within the same consulate — focus on different areas, which is why local filing trends matter as much as the underlying law.
London: roughly 45 days for E-visa unit review, and the company must be registered with the unit before an interview is scheduled
Toronto: 3 to 4 weeks review, 3 to 5 months for the case overall
Page limits are set locally — 50 pages in Paris, 70 in Toronto
Principal investors and dependants no longer file Form DS-156E; executives, managers and essential employees still file parts I, II and III
A package that ignores the local filing format is returned, costing weeks
Plan around it: do not book flights, sign US leases, or give notice on a job until this stage clears.
6Interview, then visa issued1 – 2 weeks, then 5 – 7 days
A slot is usually offered a week or two after the review clears — book it as early as you can, because appointment availability, not the decision itself, is often what holds cases up, and wait times vary significantly from post to post. The officer has already read your file, so the interview tests whether you speak about the business like someone who genuinely runs it. On approval the passport is returned within about a week.
Expect direct questions on what the business does, where the money came from, how it has been spent, and your role in running it
You must show intent to depart when E-2 status ends — an apparent intention to remain permanently can sink the application
Reciprocity fee falls due on issuance: nil for many nationalities, $5,592 per person for Australians (E-2, multiple entry, 60 months) per the State Department reciprocity schedule, charged per applicant
$250 Visa Integrity Fee, also on issuance — a statutory minimum rising annually with inflation from FY2026
Visa validity follows your country’s reciprocity schedule and can run up to five years; your authorised stay is granted in two-year increments and renews indefinitely
⚠ Everyone attends now. Since 1 October 2025 interview waivers no longer cover E visas, and the former exemptions for applicants under 14 and over 79 no longer apply. Renewals and dependants of every age attend in person — and at renewal the officer can ask how the business performed against the plan you filed years earlier.
The same groundwork as the consular route, built while you are already lawfully present in the US. The difference is that USCIS decides entirely on the paper record — there is no interview in which to rescue a weak file.
Form and fund the business, and evidence the spend: lease, equipment, inventory, payroll
Document the source of funds — US W-2 income and domestic brokerage liquidations are far simpler to evidence than cross-border funds
Build the business plan and make sure every figure in it reconciles with the rest of the filing
Maintain your current lawful status throughout; do not let it lapse
Consistency matters more here than anywhere. Revenue projections should reconcile with the premises, the staffing model and the actual investment. Discrepancies across documents are the most common trigger for a Request for Evidence — which costs more time than the premium processing you paid for saves.
Form I-129 is the petition for a nonimmigrant worker, filed with the E classification supplement. There is no DS-160, no MRV fee and no consular interview on this route.
5USCIS adjudicates the petition15 business days, or 2 – 3 months
This is the stage premium processing compresses, and the single biggest reason applicants already inside the US choose this route: fifteen business days against a standard queue of two to three months.
Premium processing: 15 business days, guaranteed — business days, not calendar days
Standard processing: 2 to 3 months
A Request for Evidence restarts the clock and can add 3 to 6 months
Note: premium processing exists only for the I-129. It is not available for consular E-2 applications, which are decided by the consulate rather than USCIS.
Approval grants E-2 status inside the United States, typically for two years and extendable. What it does not do is put a visa in your passport.
Status granted in two-year increments, extendable while you remain eligible
No visa foil is issued — you hold status, not a visa
No reciprocity fee and no Visa Integrity Fee on this route, since no visa is issued
Your spouse may work without a separate work permit; children under 21 may study
⚠ Back to the travel trap: leave the United States and this status ends. To return you must apply for the visa at a consulate, running the full consular timeline on top of what you have already spent here.
Timings reflect typical cases and currently published processing times. Individual cases vary by consulate,
nationality and complexity. Fees change; figures are for guidance and are not a guarantee of any outcome.
E-2 Visa Defined
The E-2 Investor visa is a non-immigrant visa for nationals of treaty countries who make a substantial investment in a U.S. business they will direct and develop. Unlike the E-1 treaty trader category, the E-2 lets you start a new enterprise or purchase an existing business and run it yourself. Before starting the process below, confirm you meet the four core E-2 visa requirements and that your country appears on the list of E-2 treaty countries.
Two Ways to Apply: Change of Status vs. Consular Processing
Once you have determined that the E-2 visa is the right option, there are two ways to proceed:
Criteria
Change of Status (COS)
Consular Processing (CP)
Applicant location
Must already be lawfully present in the U.S.
Must apply from outside the U.S., at a qualifying consulate
Result
E-2 status only — no visa stamp; cannot travel and re-enter without applying for a visa separately
Full E-2 visa stamp — valid for travel and re-entry
If you are already lawfully present in the U.S. under another non-immigrant visa, you file Form I-129 with USCIS, including evidence of your nationality, investment, and intent to depart once your status ends.
⚠️ The COS Travel Trap: Change of Status grants E-2 status, not an E-2 visa. The moment you leave the United States, that status ends — to return you must apply for the visa at a consulate anyway. If international travel is part of your business, consular processing is usually the better route. Fee and cost implications of switching routes are covered in our E-2 visa costs guide.
If you are physically outside the U.S., you apply at the applicable U.S. consulate — in your home country or country of lawful residence. An E-2 application is filed directly with the consulate, not USCIS.
Step 1: File Form DS-160
Form DS-160 is filed online. Have the following ready:
Passport
Travel plans (even rough ones)
U.S. contact details (often your U.S. business or attorney)
The exact process varies by consulate. It is always worth checking with an E-2 lawyer who frequently files at the applicable consulate — see our guide to choosing an E-2 visa lawyer.
🇬🇧 Applying from the UK? The London E-Visa Unit has its own document format, submission and pre-screening procedure. Follow our dedicated step-by-step guide for UK nationals.
Step 2: Pay the Corresponding Fees
Some nationals also owe a reciprocity fee on top of the DS-160 filing fee, based on what their country charges U.S. nationals — ranging from $0 to thousands of dollars in the case of Australia.
📅 2026 Fee Update: As of April 2026, the DS-160 (MRV) fee for an E-2 application is USD 315. The full breakdown — MRV, reciprocity, premium processing ($2,965, COS route only), legal fees and investment-related costs — is in our E-2 visa costs guide.
Step 3: Schedule Your Visa Interview
Applicants aged 14–79 must attend an interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Schedule as early as possible — wait times vary significantly by post. Current consulate-by-consulate wait estimates are in our processing time guide.
Step 4: Prepare Your Supporting Documents
Consular officers weigh your submitted evidence alongside your interview answers. Different consulates — and different officers within the same consulate — focus on different areas, so local trends matter. See E-2 visa requirements for the full evidentiary standard, and our business plan guide for the document officers scrutinise most.
Step 5: Attend the Interview
You must demonstrate intent to depart the U.S. once your E-2 status ends; if the officer suspects an intent to remain permanently, the application can be refused. Typical interview questions and preparation tips are covered in our E-2 visa FAQs.
Change of Status or Consular Processing — which is faster for you?
The right route depends on where you are right now and your current visa status. Tell us your situation and we'll tell you which path is actually faster for your case.
Once you have decided the E-2 visa is right for you, two structural steps come before filing: forming the company, and funding it. This applies whether you are starting a new venture, acquiring an existing business, or investing in an E-2 franchise.
Forming the company. You must own at least 50% of the E-2 business, since you are required to direct and develop it. Full ownership-structure rules — including what happens at exactly 50% — are in our requirements guide. For help with the actual formation and registered-agent step, see our business start-up services.
Opening a bank account and committing funds. You will need a business account to operate the company and to evidence the investment. There is no fixed minimum investment — officers apply a proportionality test based on the total cost of the business, not a set dollar figure.
⚠️ Common Denial Trigger: Funds merely sitting in a business bank account are not “at risk” — they must be spent or irrevocably committed (for example through a correctly structured escrow) before you file. How to structure and evidence this is covered in our requirements guide and business plan guide.
Required Documents
Prepare your E-2 visa requirements carefully — officers determine eligibility from your documents and interview together. Core filing documents include:
A passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your intended stay, with at least one blank page;
Two colour photographs meeting U.S. visa photo requirements (religious headwear permitted);
Proof of the application fee payment;
Form DS-156E, if applying as an executive, manager, or essential employee;
Curriculum vitae;
Proof of intent to depart the U.S. once your visa expires (e.g. property deeds, lease);
Proof of a bona fide enterprise (business licence, bank statements, org chart, tax returns, financials);
Proof the investment is substantial (personal and business bank statements, licence/registration, business plan);
Proof of nationality; and
Proof the enterprise is not marginal (personal tax returns, assets/income, payroll records).
Not sure which documents apply to your case?
Document requirements shift by business type and nationality. Tell us your case and we'll send the checklist that actually applies to you — not the generic list.
Beyond the filing steps above, a few things materially affect outcomes: your country's treaty eligibility, the quality of your business plan, and how well your investment evidence holds up at interview. The visa itself renews indefinitely in increments — see our renewal guide for how that works and when to start. Common denial triggers and other questions are answered in our E-2 visa FAQs.
Because filing errors and weak evidence are the most common reasons for delay or refusal, most applicants engage counsel before filing. See our guide to choosing an E-2 visa lawyer if you're comparing firms.
E-2 Visa Processing Time
Timelines depend on whether you file via USCIS (Change of Status) or a consulate (Consular Processing) — see the comparison table above for the headline difference. For the full breakdown by filing route and consulate — including how to legitimately speed the process up — see our E-2 visa processing time guide.
Validity, Extensions, and Dependents
E-2 visa validity (how long the visa itself is valid for travel) is set by the reciprocity schedule for your country and can run up to 5 years; your period of authorized stay in the U.S. is granted in 2-year increments and can be renewed indefinitely as long as you maintain E-2 eligibility. Full detail is in our E-2 visa renewal guide.
Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may accompany you as E-2 dependents. Your spouse may work without a separate Employment Authorization Document; your children may study in the U.S.
E-2 Process FAQs
1. Can I start with Change of Status and get the visa stamp later?
Yes — many applicants obtain E-2 status via Change of Status first, then consular process on their next trip abroad. But the consulate adjudicates fresh: COS approval by USCIS does not guarantee the consulate will agree. Plan the stronger filing for whichever route you will rely on long-term. The cost implications of filing twice are covered in our E-2 visa costs guide.
2. Which consulate do I apply at?
Normally your home country or country of lawful residence. Where you have a choice, consulate selection can materially change your timeline — see our processing time guide. UK applicants should follow the London E-Visa Unit process.
3. How long does the whole process take, start to finish?
Including company formation, funding and document preparation, most well-prepared cases run 3–6 months end to end. The government-processing portion is broken down in our processing time guide; the costs at each stage are in our costs guide. More questions are answered in our full E-2 FAQ.
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. Top 10 Investment Visa Lawyer, Licensed (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 | Zero denials for clients advised on source-of-funds compliance in EB-5 | Hundreds of successful EB-5 cases globally
Recognition
Named a Top 25 EB-5 Immigration Attorney by EB5 Investors Magazine (2018–2023)
Professional Engagements
Lecturer/trainer for other lawyers at AILA, ACA, University of Pennsylvania Law School | Frequent speaker at global investment immigration conferences
We are known for our creative solutions that obtain "impossible" visas. We solve the most complex immigration problems for businesses, investors, individuals, and families.
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I would definitely be a big advocate for the rest of my life for anyone wanting to explore the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Programme leading to the E-2 visa. The most important thing is a good team behind you. With Davies & Associates, you're in safe hands... you need someone who can support you on the ground and, again, you are well taken care of by D&A. The people are really warm, very helpful and quite open-minded when it comes to business... Not to mention as a passport it's great from a travel perspective... It's just 4 to 5 hours from New York.
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The entire process of getting an EB-5 visa is handled in a professional way by Mark Davies and his team. EB-5 is a wonderful option for anyone considering moving to the United States if you have the means. I was hoping to use the H-1B route for my children, but it became unreliable and so I looked to the EB-5 visa instead. It is great for anyone who has the resources. Mark gives you the first meetings himself which gives you great comfort. Both Mark and Sanjay are abundantly available and I even had the pleasure of hosting them at my house.
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I'm in the process of extending my L-1 visa. I submitted a few questions regarding my case, and he contacted me back almost immediately, both by email and telephone. Unlike other attorneys I met before, he gave me the impression of knowing off the top of his head what kind of visa I have, and what actions had to be taken to extend it. He is very thorough and clear regarding the process and what to expect in terms of timelines and issues that may arise. He is constantly in contact, so you definitely know he's working on your case.
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Davies & Associates assisted us with an immigration emergency involving my brother's fiancée who was outside the United States. They assisted us in a highly professional manner, working with the relevant US embassy, US immigration and the governments of two other countries. As a result of their efforts the individual involved is now working in the United States. While their knowledge of the law is exemplary what really distinguishes this firm and attorney Davies from any other firm we have worked with is their dedication to customer service and their unrivaled level of professionalism.
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