1. Two Types of Employee Qualifying for E-2 Visa The E-2 nonimmigrant visa allows a national of a treaty country, a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation, to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business.  Certain employees of such a person or of a qualifying organization may also be eligible for E-2 visa. Other than the E-2 investors, there are two types of employee qualifying for E-2 visas also: 1) E-2 Executives, Managers and Supervisors Executives and Managers should be in a senior position and manage the whole business or a key part of the business. In larger businesses, the owners of the business may not actually in practice spend much time in the United States. Such personnel should be able to demonstrate their executive or managerial experience, though there is no requirement that they have worked for the principal trader or investor for any period of time, as there is with the L-1 visa. Documents required for the E-2 visa application would likely include job description, resume, and supporting letter from the employer. 2) E-2 Specialist or Essential Skilled Workers: This is a good way of employing highly skilled level people to work in the U.S. You should demonstrate that: The employee has specialized knowledge of the business which may be difficult to find in the U.S. . The employee is necessary for the running of the principal trader or investor's business in the U.S. 2. The Office Space and Minimum Investment You do not have to prove that you have an office space in U.S. when you are applying for an E-1 visa, but you would have to have an office space in U.S. if you were applying for an E-2 visa. In many situations, it is practicable to get an office space or warehouse space, if you are importing goods from a treaty country to the United States, and it may look better on the E-1 or E-2 visa application if you have a real office space. For E-2 visa application, there is no set minimum investment level, though obviously the lower the amount of trade or investment, the less likely it is that the E visa application will be approved. The amount necessary will also depend on the type of business or trade engaged in. For the minimum investment for the E-2 Treaty Investor visa, No one really knows how much is a sufficient investment to register a business under the E-2 investor visa. It is up to the discretion of the E-2 Treaty Unit at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate or the USCIS if filing in the U.S. But generally, you should invest about US $100,000. However, there are many cases for IT related businesses and consultancy businesses where investments of tens of thousands of dollars may be sufficient. It is up to the discretion of the U.S. visa officer. It certainly helps if the investment is larger. It may also help if the business is already trading in the U.S. You may need to make an investment and put “money at risk” before you are granted registration as an E-2 Treaty Investor. Just putting money into a U.S. bank account is unlikely to be sufficient to be able to register as an E-2 business. Alternatively, you may be able to put money into a special escrow account only to be transferred if the E-2 visa is granted. Escrow account arrangements are more likely to be relevant if you are buying an existing business instead of starting a new business. In such a situation, the seller of the business could agree for money to be held in an escrow account. 3. The E-2 Visa Qualification and Business Plan For E-2 visa application, there are 3 major requirements need to be met: The alien must be a national of a treaty country; The alien must have invested, or be investing, a substantial amount of capital in an enterprise in the U.S.; The alien must be seeking a U.S. visa solely to develop and direct this investment enterprise. This can be proven by providing evidence that the alien owns at least 50% of the enterprise, or that invester possesses operational control of the enterprise through a managerial position. In order for an employee of an investor to apply for this visa, the the following are the E-2 visa requirements that must be met: The employee must be a citizen of the same treaty country that the principle E-2 investor maintains the citizenship; You must be able to prove that your employee is necessary for the fulfillment of your endeavor. This is easily proven if he or she is a manager or executive, but can also be proven if he or she has specialized knowledge that makes them instrumental to the operation or development of your enterprise. It is not an official E-2 visa requirement to have a Business Plan. However, it is highly recommended that you submit a comprehensive Business Plan along with your E-2 visa application evidence. This is because the U.S. Consulate or USCIS wants to see that your enterprise will create jobs, and stimulate the economy in the United States. To prove this, you need to make it clear that you have experience starting a business or that your enterprise has a high likelihood of success. Submitting a Business Plan is the best way to accomplish this. 4. The Processing Time and Alternative Choices An E-2 visa application is a document intensive petition. In addition to U.S. government forms, the visa requires submission of many supporting documents. The E-2 visa processing time can vary enormously depending on where you apply and the type of application. If the business is already registered as an E-2 Treaty Investor business this should make it quicker and easier.  If you are applying E-2 visa for a change of status through USCIS, the processing time is usually couple months. If you are applying for a change of status through USCIS inside Unites States, you will also have to pay the Form I-129 filing fee. Additional fees may apply if you have family members that will be applying for E-2 dependent visas.  The processing times at U.S. Embassies and Consulates to register an E-2 visa business varies greatly around the world. If you are applying for an E-2 visa at a U.S. Consulate, the processing time can be anywhere from several weeks to couple months. You will have to pay the visa fee, and nationals of certain countries will also have to pay a visa reciprocity fee. The visa reciprocity fees are charged to non-immigrant visa recipients after their visas have been approved. They cannot be paid in advance. You will need to attend your visa interview and receive an approval on your visa application from the U.S. consular official. Some applications may be able to complete applications in a few weeks. Others could take a number of months. If you are able to apply from within the U.S., applications can apply directly to the USCIS, which can be fast using premium processing. If you do not qualify for E visa, the L-1 intra-company transfer visa is the most obvious choice, though the H-1B speciality occupation visa is also a possibility. In addition, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor is an option which eventually leads to U.S. permanent residency. However, EB-5 visa is difficult and time-consuming to obtain. 5. Applying for an E-2 Visa at a U.S. Consulate or with USCIS through a Change of Status inside U.S. It is generally advised that the applicants go back to their home country to apply for the E-2 visa at their local U.S. Consulate. The primary reason for this is that the change of status is not a visa, but change your status in United States Therefore, it does not allow you to reenter the U.S. if you leave it. As such, you are restricted from reentering the U.S. and if you leave the U.S., you have to go to an U.S. Consulate to reapply for the E visa. Also, one of the E-2 requirements has to do with the viability of the business and for most start-up businesses, this requirement is primarily satisfied with the business plan. When the business is new, the applicant has 5 years of projections and may get the E-2 visa approved at an U.S. Consulate for 5 years, but the E-2 visa approval is good for 2 years with USCIS in the U.S. Finally, USCIS can be extremely exacting with petitions, and will focus much more on source of funds, and can be very rigid when it comes to the source of funds requirements.  But for visa application at an U.S. Consulate, you have an opportunity to discuss any concerns with an U.S. officer. Generally, there are times where it makes sense to apply for an E-2 visa with USCIS inside United States. In following situations, the applicants can file for Change of Status to E-2 status if inside the United States with USCIS: 1) If the treaty investor is currently in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status, they may file Form I-129 to request a change of status to E-2 classification. 2) If the desired employee is currently in the United States in a lawful nonimmigrant status, the qualifying employer may file Form I-129 to request a change of status to E-2 classification on the employee’s behalf. A request for E-2 status may not be made on Form I-129 if you are physically outside the United States. You should apply for an E-2 nonimmigrant visa abroad. Upon issuance of a E-2 visa, the person may seek admission at a United States port of entry as an E-2 nonimmigrant. 6. The E-2 Visa Application at  U.S. Consulate An E-2 visa is a perfect visa for a foreign national from an E-2 treaty country that wishes to purchase or start a business in the United States. The visa can be approved with a relatively low investment in the U.S., such as $50,000 investment, and the E-2 visa does not have a quota or cap. You should show the U.S. government that your business will be viable, and will ultimately hire U.S. workers. Also, an E-2 visa applicant must show that the funds came from a legitimate source. If you apply for an E-2 visa at a U.S. Consulate, you are required to complete a DS-160 form and submit supporting documentation to the U.S. Consulate. The documentation usually describes how the applicant has met all of the requirements of the E-2 visa. Once the Form DS-160 and supporting documents are submitted, the U.S. Consulate may ask for additional information, and will review the documentation and call the applicant for an interview. During the interview, the applicant will be asked several questions, and the Consulate officer will approve or deny the E visa application at the interview. If approved, the E-2 visa will be stamped on the applicant’s passport, and the applicant is free to enter the United States to start developing and directing the E-2 business. The approval time depends on the reciprocity between the country and the U.S., and also depends on the Consulate officer’s discretion. If the E-2 visa is denied, the applicant is usually told the reason for the visa denial.  7. The E-2 Visa Application inside U.S. through a Change of Status with USCIS The E-2 visa processing time depends on whether you are applying from inside the U.S. or in your home country. If you are currently in the United States, it can be obtained by filling out an I-129 form for non-immigrant workers with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). On average, the Form I-129 form application takes about two to four months to process. If you are in your home country, then you will need to go through the U.S. Consular processing. This means that you will participate in a one-on-one consular interview with an U.S. immigration officer. During this interview, you will be asked questions about your background, your enterprise, and your plans for living in the U.S. The purpose will be to determine if your case is legitimate. Fortunately, if it is too long to wait for your E-2 visa inside United States, you can opt for Premium Processing with USCIS. This optional service allows you to pay an extra fee, and have your I-129 form petition’s processing time shortened to 15 calendar days. The Premium Processing does not expedite any other aspect of the E-2 visa process, and it will not improve your petition’s chances of being approved.  If you are applying for an E-2 visa from the U.S. with USCIS through a change of status, you will complete an I-129 form and submit it with supporting documentation to a USCIS service center. If you would like the petition adjudicated in 15 calendar days by using the Premium Service, you can pay an additional fee. Once approved, USCIS will send you an approval notice. When applying for a change of status, you are not required to attend an interview. The E-2 visa approval is good for 2 years. As long as you do not leave the U.S., you can renew it inside U.S. indefinitely, as long as the E-2 business is still running.

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