E-2 Visa, otherwise known as the investor visa, allows individuals to live and work in the USA through their investments in a US business. There are several requirements to meet to apply for and obtain an E-2 visa. In this piece, you will find what those requirements are and how you can apply for an E-2 visa. However, we will specifically focus on the question of the minimum amount of investment for an E-2 visa.
In order to be eligible, the applicant must have citizenship from one of the treaty countries. If the applicant is part of a corporate entity, at least half of the business must be owned by individuals of the treaty country's nationality. The application is expected to have a substantial amount of investment. However, the substantial amount in question has not been defined by the law.
"The Substantial Amount" for E-2 Visa
The minimum amount you need to apply for the E-2 Visa depends on the type of business you are planning to run. Even the state you are planning to locate your business is essential to calculate the minimum amount of investment you need. For example, a lawyer working from home in Nashville would have a completely different start-up cost and capital requirement than an entrepreneur who wants to open a Turkish restaurant in New Jersey. If there is an established business plan similar to your trajectory, you could utilize it to apply your start-up. It would ease your work to evaluate the amount of capital you need for your investment initially.
How to Decide on Minumum Amount of Investment
E-2 Investor Visa is intended to create jobs for US workers. The applicant must develop and run a business. In order to do this, your substantial amount of investment must be enough to conduct a successful business. As we explained, although the specific amount of this capital is not cleared, the applicant has to be carefully crafted her/his investment based on the business plan she/he has. The applicant should be able to cover the salary of employees, rent of the workplace, payment of the necessary equipment, the livelihood of dependants, etc. While applying for the visa, the investor should consider all these expenditures to obtain the right amount of capital for his/her investment.
For more of your questions, you can visit our previous piece on the E-2 Visa application process.
