Requirements For E-2 Treaty Investor Visa That You Must Know

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Girish Mohile is an Associate with D&A based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

 

If you are looking forward to moving to the US, there are several options available to you. Out of all the options, the E-2 visa stands out. E-2 visa enables an investor to live and develop business in the US. Also known as an investor visa for the US, it is relatively easy to obtain this visa as compared to other types of visas like H1-B.

Qualifying for an E-2 visa can be a bit complicated and here are the requirements for it.

E-2 treaty investor visa is the one reserved for entrepreneurs of countries that are signatory to the treaty of trade and commerce with the US. This visa allows an investor or businessman to carry out trade activities in the US. There is a conundrum relating to what amounts to investment activities for E-2 visa. You must remember that a substantial amount of investment is a must for obtaining this visa which includes the cost of purchasing and establishing the business. The total amount must be sufficient to run and develop the business successfully.

 

Here are some of the requirements for the investor visa:

1. You should belong to a country which is a signatory to the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with the US. The list of these countries is available with the Department of State

2. You have already invested or are in the active process of investing substantial capital in any business enterprise in the US. The definition of significant amount has previously been mentioned above

3. You sole aim to enter the US should be through direct investment in an enterprise. Proof that you own at least 50% assets in that enterprise

An investment for those obtaining the US business immigration visa means placement of funds or assets in the enterprise with the motive of making profits and subject to loss, either partial or full. A treaty investor needs to prove that the funds used for the investment have not been obtained by any criminal activity.

Additionally, the enterprise in which a treaty investor is planning to invest should not be a marginal enterprise. An enterprise is marginal when its capacity to generate income is less than what is required to give minimum living to the investor and his family. There are other conditions attached to this, and these conditions depend on the age of the enterprise.

Once E-2 visa is obtained, investor gets the benefit of traveling freely across the country and work legally with any company. Relatives or dependents can also accompany the investor to the US. Investors can also call their workers for the enterprise on this visa.


3 Reasons Why EB-5 Visa to USA is a Good Option for Indian Citizens

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Girish Mohile is an Associate with Davies & Associates based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

Indians opting US for studies find it increasingly difficult to find a job and live there due to massive backlogs faced by them in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories forcing almost a decade long wait. This massive waiting period is after application for H-1B visas has been made, which undergoes a lottery in which if successful, they must find an employer willing to sponsor for a green card after which they will face the backlog mentioned above. With the EB-5 Visa, permanent residency is offered to foreign nationals on the condition that they invest a minimum of USD 500,000 in a US-based business through lawful sources which manage to create ten full-time jobs. With immigration laws becoming much stricter since the Trump administration, EB-5 seems like the only good option left for Indian citizens right now, and here are a few more reasons why:

1) Fast route to a Green Card

Indian citizens are facing a delay in their EB-5 application process, but this remains far shorter than the wait in EB-2 or EB-3 categories. The EB-5 delay may be about four years, so it is vital to start considering an application to prevent any children from ageing out of a family application at 21 years of age.

2) H-1B visa difficulties 

With the Trump administration curbing immigration at full force, obtaining an H-1B visa is becoming tougher than ever before with various restrictive executive orders and policy memoranda. Since EB-5 does not need employer sponsorship for permanent residency, it’s more attractive to employers and you can enjoy more freedom in terms of career movement.

3) In- state tuition 

Under permanent residency many students become eligible for in-state tuition fees at public universities with in-state tuition fees being significantly cheaper than the full tuition fees charged to foreign nationals.

These are just some of the benefits EB-5 has to offer but with increasing restrictions from the Trump administration, it may turn out to be the only practical option for Indian citizens to apply for studies or for US business immigration. In the process you may have to hire an EB 5 visa attorney or an EB 5 immigration lawyer in India depending on your motivation for immigrating to US, to help you in process of immigration to the States.


A Complete Guideline to Get Investor Visa in USA for Indians

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Girish Mohile is an Associate with D&A based in Mumbai, India. Girish works as local Business Development representative for the firm and acts as liaison between Indian clients and US attorneys on their source of funds. Girish is not licensed to practice law in the United States and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

If you are an Indian resident planning to move to the US, you might be searching for options which would allow you to do so. There are several options available to Indians, such as H1-B, L1, E-2, etc.

However, E-2 visa stands out from these options. This visa enables an investor to live in the US to develop business. Also known as an Indian investor visa, it is relatively easy to obtain as compared to other types of visas like H1-B and L1.

Qualifying for an E-2 visa has some specific requirements:

E-2 visa is reserved for entrepreneurs of countries which are signatory to  the treaty of trade and commerce with the US. This US business immigration visa allows an investor or businessperson to carry out their trade activities in the USA.

In this article, we will discuss how an Indian can apply for the investor visa.

One of the significant issues preventing Indian investors from obtaining the E-2 visa is its requirement of the investors being citizens of the treaty countries. Since India is not a party to this treaty with the US, only option available to investors is to obtain citizenship of any other country with which the US has signed the Treaty of Commerce.

Hence, Grenada becomes a leading option to achieve this end. Foreign nationals from countries not having a treaty with the US are allowed to obtain citizenship here. Located in the East Caribbean, Grenada is an E-2 country. It is one of the popular choices of investors because it offers a program of investment to them to obtain its citizenship. Also, it is possible to obtain its citizenship by investing USD 200,000 in the country.

For more advice on obtaining the citizenship of Grenada, it is advisable to consult with a reputed immigration lawyer.

Another country that can help secure a citizenship quickly, is Canada. Similar to Grenada, Canada too has its program for investors to grant them citizenship. Citizenship is allowed based on the investment done by the investor. Also, you can get this citizenship with an investment of CAD 800,000 in the country.

For more information on obtaining Canadian citizenship, you should consult a reputed immigration lawyer.

If you wish to conduct business in the US without giving up on your nationality, you can go for L1 visa:

L1 visa

This is a non-immigrant visa under which a foreign company is allowed to transfer one of its employees to work in a US firm related to it. The fact that under the L1 visa, the manager or employee of a foreign company can set up a new office in the US gives you opportunities to start your business until you satisfy the investor visa for USA requirements.

So get started on your dreams of moving to the US.


L-1A Visa – Benefits You Should Know [Infographic]

Do you dream of working and living in the United States of America? If you own a business, you should consider opening a branch of your company in the United States. You could then transfer yourself or a senior staff member to the USA on an L-1A Visa for the purposes of running that business. The business does not need to be in exactly the same field as your existing business, provided the ownership is the same. Unlike the H1B visa, there is no quota and the visa can be granted for a longer period of time.

 

 

 

 

It is always best to avail the services of a qualified immigration lawyer to determine the best immigration route to suit your particular circumstances. At Davies & Associates LLC, we are a leading immigration law firm having a top team of L-1 Visa lawyers across the United States processing L1 visas every single day, reach out to us now!

 

Want to share this Infographic on your blog or website?

Here’s how: Copy the below code and paste it into your website.


The Largest E Visa Market in the World

Cost of EB 5 Visa

Duncan Hill is marketing director at Davies & Associates LLC. Duncan is not a lawyer and nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.

 

Our team is heading to the Land of the Rising Sun amid strong demand for the E2 Visa. Davies & Associates has one of the strongest E2 legal teams in the business and we enjoy high success rates as a result.

 

Japan has the highest number of E2 Visa applicants in the world. Although this is somewhat unsurprising given Japan’s preeminent business culture and strong commercial ties with the United States, the numbers are staggering. 75% of all E visas issued in Asia last year went to Japanese citizens. In fact, 25% of all E visas globally were issued in Japan.

In addition, the country registered consistently strong demand for L visas with Japanese citizens claiming 7% of a much larger global total last year.

 

And the country’s appetite for US investor visas continues to grow. E visas overtook student visas as the most popular visa category last year, and EB-5 applications also registered a sharp growth in 2018.

 

Our Senior Leadership team in bound for Japan and available to consult on a range of USA visas, as well as the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Programme, as well as exciting new Italian residency options. Contact us for a free consultation.