There are two types of visa categories for immigrants to invest in a business in the U.S. The EB-5 immigrant visa category which requires a minimum investment of $500,000USD and the E-2 Treaty Trader non-immigrant visa category for investors in smaller businesses. Part 1 of this article will address the E-2 nonimmigrant category.

The E-2 nonimmigrant category does not provide lawful permanent residency (“a green card”), but it is a good alternative to the EB-5 immigrant investor category because it allows a much lower investment. The E-2 investor may bring his or her spouse and children under age 21 to the US. The spouse and children of an E-2 investor are not allowed to work. The minor children may attend school. Foreign nationals who are currently in the US under some other legal status may apply the change status to E-2 status. The E-2 status has no set time limit and it is renewed every two years.

In order to qualify for the E-2, the investor must be a national of a country that has a treaty with the U.S. Many Spanish speaking countries have these types of treaties such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and Paraguay. The business must have at least 50% of ownership by treaty foreign nationals. The treaty allows the investor to enter the US to develop and direct the operations of a business that s/he has invested a substantial amount of capital. The E-2 applicant must have control over the funds invested and have the ability to hire an fire employees, set wages, and set the hours of the business. The business must be real and active producing some service or product for sale.

The source of the funds to be invested must be legitimate. Some examples are savings, gift, or inheritance. The funds cannot just be sitting in a savings account and must be in the process of investing so it is close to the start of actual business operations.

There is no set minimum of amount of funds to be invested, the amount depends upon the financial requirements of that type of business, at minimum, $50,000USD. The business cannot only provide an income for the investor and family members; the investor must show there will be a profit and that local jobs will be created.

In Part 2 of 2, we will go over the more stringent EB-5 investor category.