E2 INVESTOR VISAS

E2 Treaty Investor Visa and The L1 Intracompany Transferee Visas

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619-677-5727 or from Canada toll-free 1-877-223-4684

Welcome to one of the world's leading firms for E2 Visa Cases, Handling cases Nationwide, and in 54 countries.

Our immigration lawyers live and breathe E2 visas. Our law firm has helped hundreds if not thousands (we lost count) of clients run their companies from the United States. As we are one of the very few law firms in this country that practice both immigration and business law, we get. your needs better than you think. Our lead attorney, Steven Riznyk, studied Strategic Management at Harvard University and was a Fortune 500 consultant in Business Process Re-engineering. He understands business, as he started business at age 13,  and can help and guide you through this wonderful journey.

Our law firm also creates cases for 80 law firms nationwide that provide us their most complex E2 visa cases to work on. We train lawyers on E2 visas. We know them, we love them, we work with them, every day of the week.  We can not only prepare your E2 visa case, but also your business plan, and even create your business for you in the legal sense and real-world sense, as we are business consultants as well (in the true sense; not just lawyers who can consult). In short, we get business.

We create cases very differently than most law firm; our submissions are very concise and comprehensive; as a result, we have one of the highest success rates in the world; our cases take 5 times more labor than a standard law firm, but get the job done.

There are 3 Options for Foreign Investors in order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa or Green Card
Are you an investor from a foreign country looking to relocate to the United States to grow a business? There are only 3 visa options: the E-2, the L-1, and the EB-5.

The E1 Visa
The E1 visa is for persons who deal in import-export with a treaty country. As we receive very few inquiries on that, we will only discuss the E2 at this time as the rest of the business principles are essentially identical. The E2 deals with all business options except for import/export, so most any kind of business would be open to consideration.

The E2 Treaty Investor Visa
The E2 visa allows you to invest in the U.S. by purchasing an existing business, a franchise, or creating your own. This means you must be investing or have already invested a substantial amount of money (which usually starts at only $150,000) into a company in the United States.  In order to apply for the E2 visa, you need to have made the investment already, as you have to provide the government with receipts.

E2 Treaty Investor Visa Country Requirement
Only nationals of treaty countries -- countries with an international treaty of commerce and navigation with the U.S. -- can apply for an E2 visa. There are over seventy countries on the list, including Mexico, Canada, and countries in Western Europe. Australian citizens may also apply for an E2 visa, despite the lack of a treaty.

The L1 requires you to have owned a business in a foreign country for 1 year in the past three, and to have held a position as an executive or high-level manager. The EB5 requires a lot of money: $800,000 if you are in a TEA, or targeted employment area (ie higher risk), or in a normal area, $1,050,000. This leads to a Green Card, but then again, so can the E2 if you own companies in more than one country and have been a high-level executive or high-level manager (the L1 has the same quality); these lead to the EB-1 (EB means Employment Based) Green Card.

Interestingly, some countries allow for both the E1 visa (Treaty Trader or an entity involved in import/export) and the E2 treaty investor visa (the standard business investment), yet some allow only one or the other. Be sure to consider this carefully before you make a plan. Call us if you are not sure how this works. We've had too many clients plan to pursue one or the other and later finally call a lawyer only to find out they invested in the wrong type of business. It makes business sense to engage an immigration lawyer as soon as you begin the journey. Our numbers are (877) 223-4684 or (619) 677-5727, and yes, we provide a free consultation.

The E2 visa is a very special visa. With most visas, such as the F1 student visa, the government expects you to return to your original home after a certain period of time, once you complete your school studies, for example, but the E2 treaty investor visa has no such restriction. An E2 visa allows the investor to remain and conduct business for an indefinite period of time. There's no need to specify how long you plan to remain in the country when you apply -- all you need to do is show intent to return to your country of origin at some point in the future. That point could be decades away. Every few years, you'll have an opportunity to renew your visa, and the number of times you may renew is unlimited, as long as you continue to run your business successfully.

It would be a good idea to watch one of our many E2 videos to cover the basics, then think about what you have learned, and call us, so we can go to the next level

Call us now for a free high-level consultation with an immigration lawyer who is well-versed in both investor visas and business law.

The L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa
If you own a business abroad that you plan on keeping, you may want to look into an L-1 intracompany transferee visa. The L1 visa provides the added benefit of allowing you to pursue a Green Card after residing in the U.S. for one year, if that's something that is of interest to you. If you have any questions about which visa may be better for your needs, feel free to call and we will brainstorm with you.

Many of you may be wondering whether family members will be able to accompany you to the United States if you are granted an E2 treaty investor visa. The answer is yes! Your spouse can even apply to work once you reach the U.S., and there are no restrictions as to what his or her work needs to involve. They may work for any company in any capacity, for as long or short an amount of time as they wish. If you have dependent children, they will also receive E-2 dependent visas, usually until they turn 21. Once they turn 21, if they wish to stay in the U.S. they will need to apply for a different visa in their own right.
Remember, your intent in coming to the United States with an E-2 treaty investor visa should be to grow your enterprise and create jobs here in the States. You will have to prove your company is capable of generating a substantial amount of revenue, not just enough money to support you and your family. You should provide a comprehensive business plan with your E-2 case, to prove your company will be able to generate a substantial amount of money.

The business plan should include a SWOT analysis, marketing and advertising plans, as well as a 3 or 5-year financial projection. You can prepare one on your own and we will review it for free, or we can prepare one for you.

You may be thinking the E2 treaty investor visa is a risky venture. And you are partially correct. However, we are both immigration and business lawyers (unlike most firms in the U.S.), which provides us ample experience to keep you from ending up in a sticky situation. One way we help our clients lower the risk is by suggesting they purchase a business (or sign a lease if they are starting their own) with a clause that states: "Subject to the approval of the E visa." This is called a condition precedent and is a way to ensure you won't lose your investment should something happen during the visa process. If you have any other questions, feel free to give us a call at  (877) 223-4684 and we will be able to help you out.

Some people look at the E2 visa as an alternative when other situations fail. For example, we have successfully used the E2 visa for persons who wanted to spend some of their old age here or for people in gay marriages. Another way we've used it is to help parents get their kids (over 21 years of age) to the United States. The parents gift the children $100,000 for an investment, and then the children apply for an E-2 investor visa.

If you would like more information about eligibility requirements and the process of applying for an E-2 treaty investor visa, check out the other pages on our menu above. Already thinking the E-2 visa might be for you? Give us a call today for a free consultation!

  All numbers go to the same line: Consultation: (877) 223-4684
From outside the US: (619) 677-5727   •   From Canada: (877) 223-4684.
From Italy: 0689385848   •    From England: 2033710984