Investor Visa Lawyers: EB-5 & E-2

EB-5 is an immigrant investor visa: it leads to a green card and permanent residence for you and your immediate family. E-2 is a nonimmigrant treaty investor visa: it lets treaty-country nationals live in the US to run a business they have invested in, and it renews indefinitely, but it does not by itself grant a green card. EB-5 is open to any nationality; E-2 is only for nationals of treaty countries. EB-5 generally requires a larger investment. We help you choose based on your nationality, your capital, and whether you want permanence or speed.

The EB-5 minimum investment is set by statute and adjusts over time, and it is generally higher for investments in standard areas than in designated targeted employment areas. Because these thresholds were reset by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act and can change, we confirm the current figure for your specific case at the consultation rather than quoting a number that may be out of date.

No, the E-2 has no fixed statutory dollar figure. The investment must be "substantial" in relation to the total cost of buying or establishing the business, meaning enough to reasonably ensure the enterprise will succeed. A modest business may qualify with a smaller investment than a large one; the test is proportionality and genuine commitment, not a set number. We assess whether your planned investment is substantial for your particular business at the consultation.

The E-2 is available only to nationals of countries that hold a qualifying treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States. The list is maintained by the US Department of State and changes as treaties are added or lapse, so we confirm your country's current eligibility as the first step. If your country is not on the treaty list, an EB-5 or another route may be the better path.

Yes. Both investor visas include your immediate family. With EB-5, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 are included in the petition and obtain green cards along with you. With E-2, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 receive derivative status; an E-2 spouse is generally able to apply for work authorization. Family inclusion is one of the biggest reasons investors choose these paths.

It depends on the visa. An E-2 can move relatively quickly, since it is a nonimmigrant application. EB-5 is a longer road: you file the investor petition, obtain conditional permanent residence, and then remove the conditions after a set period by proving the investment and job creation held up. Processing times shift with government workloads, so we give you a realistic timeline for your specific case at the consultation rather than a fixed promise.

A Regional Center is a government-designated entity that pools capital from multiple EB-5 investors into larger economic development projects. Investing through a Regional Center lets you count jobs created indirectly by the project, which is often easier to document than the direct jobs a single small business must create. Congress reserves a portion of the annual EB-5 visas specifically for Regional Center investors. The tradeoff is less day-to-day control over the enterprise. Direct investment gives you more control but requires your own business to create the required jobs itself.

Not automatically. The E-2 is nonimmigrant status and does not convert on its own. But many E-2 investors plan a green card path in parallel, most often by growing the same business into an EB-5 case or by pursuing an employment-based route. Because we handle both investor visas and the employment green card categories, we can map the sequence from the start so your temporary status and your long-term goal work together instead of against each other.

Yes. Our attorneys speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French natively, not through a translation service. Native Brazilian Portuguese is a real differentiator here: very few immigration firms in Palm Beach can walk a Brazilian investor through the numbers, the risk, and the source-of-funds documentation in Portuguese. Spanish is available at every office. You discuss your investment in the language you trust to talk about money.

Investor cases are scoped at the consultation, not quoted off a menu, because EB-5 and E-2 cases vary widely in complexity, structure, and source-of-funds work. Attorney fees are separate from the government filing fees and from the investment itself. EB-5 in particular is a substantial engagement given the documentation involved. We give you a real number for your specific case before you commit. No quotes without seeing the file.