INVESTOR VISAS · E-2 TREATY INVESTOR
E-2 Treaty Investor Visa Lawyers
Invest, and run your business here.
The E-2 treaty investor visa lets a national of a treaty country make a substantial investment in a real US business and come here to run it. For many owners it is renewable for as long as the business operates. Looking for an E-2 visa lawyer near you? We handle treaty investor cases from offices in Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and Atlanta, in four languages: qualifying your nationality, structuring a substantial and at-risk investment, bringing over key employees, and renewing the visa year after year as your business grows.
TREATY INVESTORS
Nationals of qualifying treaty countries
REAL OPERATING BUSINESS
Substantial, at-risk investment
RENEWABLE
For as long as the business qualifies
4
LANGUAGES
English · Spanish · Portuguese · French
THE BASICS
What the E-2 treaty investor visa is
E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa for entrepreneurs. If you are a national of a country that holds a qualifying treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States, and you make a substantial investment in a genuine US business that you will direct and develop, the E-2 lets you and your family live here to run it. For an owner who wants to be operating quickly, it is one of the most practical visas in the entire system.
The word to hold onto is nonimmigrant. The E-2 is not a green card and does not lead to one on its own. What it offers instead is longevity of a different kind: it is granted for a set period and can be renewed again and again for as long as the business keeps qualifying and you keep meeting the requirements. Plenty of E-2 owners run their businesses for a decade or more on successive renewals. What the E-2 asks in return is that the investment be real, substantial, and genuinely at risk: not a passive holding, and not a business too small to do more than support you.
The treaty-country requirement
The E-2 begins and ends with your nationality. The visa exists because of treaties the United States maintains with specific countries, and it is available only to nationals of those treaty countries. If your country of citizenship holds a qualifying E-2 treaty, you may be eligible. If it does not, the E-2 is simply not available to you, and another route, often EB-5, becomes the path to consider instead.
The list of treaty countries is maintained by the US Department of State and changes over time as treaties are established or lapse. It is also nationality-based, not residence-based: what matters is the country you are a citizen of, not where you currently live. For a business with multiple owners, at least the required ownership generally must be held by nationals of the same treaty country. Because the treaty question decides whether an E-2 is even on the table, confirming your country's current eligibility is the very first thing we do.
A substantial, at-risk investment
Unlike EB-5, the E-2 has no fixed dollar minimum written into the law. Instead, the investment has to be substantial in relation to the total cost of buying or establishing the particular business. A small service business and a manufacturing operation are held to very different numbers, because "substantial" is measured proportionally: enough to reasonably ensure you are committed to making the enterprise succeed. A lower total cost can mean a lower qualifying investment, which is part of what makes the E-2 accessible to entrepreneurs who could not meet an EB-5 threshold.
The capital also has to be genuinely at risk. That means real money irrevocably committed to the business, exposed to potential loss if the venture fails: not funds sitting untouched in an account, and not a loan secured only by the business assets you are trying to buy. The government wants to see that you have put your own resources on the line. We help you structure the investment so it is both substantial for your specific business and demonstrably at risk, and we build the record that proves it.
The business cannot be marginal
An E-2 business has to be more than a job you created for yourself. The rules bar a "marginal" enterprise: one that does no more than earn a living for you and your family. To qualify, the business needs the present or future capacity to generate significantly more than that: to grow, to produce meaningful economic contribution, and, in most cases, to employ others over time.
A brand-new business does not have to prove all of this on day one, but it does have to show a credible path there, usually through a realistic business plan projecting growth and hiring over the coming years. This is why the business plan is not a formality in an E-2 case. It is evidence. We help shape a plan that is both honest about the business and responsive to what the E-2 actually requires.
Bringing key employees on E-2
The E-2 is not only for the owner. A qualifying business can also bring certain employees to the United States on E-2 status, which is one of the visa's most useful features for a growing company. To qualify, an employee generally must share the same treaty-country nationality as the employer, and must be coming to fill either an executive or supervisory role or a position requiring special qualifications essential to the business.
That "essential skills" category matters for owners who need to import specific expertise: a chef trained in a particular tradition, a technician who runs proprietary equipment, a manager who knows the parent company's operation. We assess which roles genuinely qualify, because the standard is real: the employee's skills have to be essential to the enterprise's operations, not merely convenient. Handled well, E-2 employee visas let an owner build a team around the investment rather than trying to run everything alone.
Renewing the E-2, potentially indefinitely
The E-2 is granted for a set period, and it can be renewed for as long as the business continues to qualify and you continue to meet the requirements. There is no fixed cap on the number of renewals, which is why some owners maintain E-2 status for many years across successive extensions. As long as the enterprise stays real, operating, and more than marginal, and as long as you keep directing and developing it, the door stays open.
The catch to keep in view is that renewals do not add up to permanence. Each renewal is still nonimmigrant status; the years do not convert into a green card on their own. Owners who want the E-2's flexibility now but permanent residence eventually usually plan a second track (most often an EB-5, sometimes an employment route) while the E-2 keeps them operating. We think about the exit from the E-2 at the same time we set it up.
E-2 or EB-5: which investor visa fits
E-2 and EB-5 solve different problems. E-2 gets a treaty-country entrepreneur on the ground and operating a business relatively quickly, renewable for years, but it never becomes a green card on its own. EB-5 leads directly to permanent residence for you and your immediate family, but it generally requires a larger investment, is open to any nationality, and runs on a longer, multi-stage timeline through conditional residency.
For many investors the honest answer is not "either/or" but "in what order." An entrepreneur from a treaty country might start on an E-2 to launch fast, then grow the same business into an EB-5 case for the green card. An investor whose country has no E-2 treaty may go straight to EB-5. Because we handle both, we can map the sequence to your nationality, your capital, and your timeline instead of forcing your plan to fit a single visa.
Your family on an E-2
The E-2 brings your family with you. Your spouse and your unmarried children under 21 can accompany you in derivative E-2 status, living and, for your children, studying in the United States while you run the business. An E-2 spouse is generally able to work, which for many families makes a real difference in the years the visa is in force.
Because children age out of derivative status when they turn 21, families with older teenagers should plan with that timeline in mind, and it is one more reason some E-2 families look ahead to a permanent path like EB-5 before a child ages out. We flag those pressure points at the consultation so they do not surprise you later.
Why entrepreneurs choose Delgado Purdy Law for E-2
An E-2 case is really a business case in immigration clothing, and we treat it that way. Jacqueline Delgado leads our investor practice with E-2 and EB-5 experience, so your treaty-investor case sits inside a full business-immigration strategy rather than in isolation. If an EB-5 or an employment route later makes sense, the same firm carries it. You work with senior counsel directly, from the first business-plan conversation to each renewal down the road.
You also get language access that fits the entrepreneurs this visa serves. We handle E-2 cases in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, from offices in Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and Atlanta. That is a real answer for anyone searching for an E-2 visa lawyer near them in South Florida or Metro Atlanta. For Brazil's active small-business and franchise investors in particular, native Portuguese means you can talk through the investment, the plan, and the risk in your own language, with an attorney who understands both sides of the case.
COMMON QUESTIONS
E-2 questions we hear in every consultation
The E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa that lets a national of a country with a qualifying treaty with the United States make a substantial investment in a real US business and come here to direct and develop it. It brings your spouse and unmarried children under 21, and it can be renewed for as long as the business qualifies. What it does not do, on its own, is grant a green card. The E-2 is temporary status, not permanent residence.
There is no fixed dollar minimum for an E-2. The investment must be "substantial" in relation to the total cost of buying or establishing the specific business, meaning enough to reasonably ensure the enterprise succeeds. A lower-cost business can 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 confirming your country's current eligibility is the first thing we do. If your country is not a treaty country, an EB-5 or another route may be the better path.
No. The E-2 is a nonimmigrant visa. It can be renewed indefinitely as long as the business keeps qualifying, but the renewals do not convert into permanent residence on their own. Owners who want a green card usually plan a separate path (most often EB-5, sometimes an employment-based route) alongside or after the E-2. Because we handle both, we can map that sequence from the start.
Yes. A qualifying E-2 business can bring certain employees who share the employer's treaty-country nationality and are coming to fill an executive or supervisory role, or a position requiring special qualifications essential to the business. That "essential skills" category is useful for importing specific expertise, but the standard is real: the skills have to be genuinely essential to operations. We assess which roles qualify.
The E-2 is granted for a set period, and there is no fixed cap on renewals: you can extend it for as long as the business continues to qualify and you keep meeting the requirements. Many owners maintain E-2 status for many years across successive renewals. The initial validity period can vary depending on your country of nationality, so we confirm that for your specific case.
Generally, yes. An E-2 spouse is typically able to work in the United States, and your unmarried children under 21 can accompany you and attend school in derivative status. Because policy on spousal work authorization has shifted in recent years, we confirm the current treatment for your situation. Children age out of derivative status at 21, which is worth planning around.
An E-2 business must be more than a means of earning a living for you and your family. It has to have the present or future capacity to generate significantly more: to grow, contribute economically, and typically employ others over time. A new business does not have to prove all of this immediately, but it needs a credible business plan showing a path to that growth. The plan is treated as evidence, not a formality.
E-2 is a nonimmigrant treaty investor visa: available only to treaty-country nationals, with no fixed dollar minimum, renewable but never a green card on its own. EB-5 is an immigrant investor visa: open to any nationality, generally requiring a larger investment, and leading directly to a green card for you and your family. E-2 gets you operating quickly; EB-5 gives you permanence. Many investors use them in sequence, and we handle both.
Yes. We handle E-2 treaty investor cases from offices in Boynton Beach and Lake Worth in Palm Beach County and in Atlanta, and we work with investors across both states and beyond. You meet with senior counsel directly, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French, including the native Brazilian Portuguese that few firms in this market offer. Consultations can be held by phone, video, or in person at any of our offices.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Let's get your business up and running here.
Schedule a consultation with us. We will confirm your treaty eligibility, look at your investment and your business plan, and tell you what your E-2 case realistically takes, including where a permanent path might fit down the road, before you commit to anything. If you retain us, the consultation fee is credited to your case.