E2/L1 Visas

Florida is home to one of the largest business markets in the nation. If you are looking to purchase or move a business to Florida, and if you are a citizen of one of the many treaty countries, you are eligible for a much easier path to immigrating to the United States than most. When buying or investing in a business in the United States, using your eligibility for an E2 or L1 visa can provide a definitive advantage.

E2 Visa

An E2 visa has many advantages that other visas cannot provide. However, it is limited to E2 treaty countries and there are approximately 80 treaty countries that qualify.

With an E2 visa, investors can enter, exit, and re-enter the United States as they wish. Additionally, spouses of an E2 investor can apply for work authorization, and children under 21 can be issued E2 dependent visas to attend school.

In order to qualify, you must be willing to make a “substantial” investment in a United States enterprise. This can be either for establishing a new or purchasing a pre-existing business. This requirement is fairly easy to satisfy and does not require the substantial capital of an EB5 investment.

As long as you are ready to invest and have the funds in hand, we can assist you in starting the E2 visa process immediately and ensure that you are eligible.

The E investor Visa (E1 or E2, depending on your country of origin) allows you and your family to live in the United States, and to operate your Business. It is a temporary Visa that can be renewed but will not give you permanent residency in the US.

The requirements to obtain an E-2 visa are as follows:

  • To qualify, you must be a national of the treaty country. The choice of business in which the investment is made is at the discretion of the investor.
  • The investor must come to the United States to develop and run the business. If the visa applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed as a supervisor, executive or with highly specialized knowledge. Regular workers or without such specialized knowledge will not qualify.
  • There is no specified amount of the investment. USCIS require it be substantial and not marginal. and the funds used are personal and put at “risk”. That is, the investment must be sufficient and must be irrevocably committed to the development and successful operation of the company. The recommended minimum investment amount is $100,000
  • An investment is marginal when it only generates income that only allows the investor and their family to survive. The investment must generate significant income greater than those that only allow the investor to survive and their family or must have a significant economic impact on the United States.
  • The investor must have majority control of the funds of the company and the investment must be at risk in a commercial sense. Loans backed by company assets are not allowed.
  • The acquisition of the invested funds must be demonstrated that they were obtained legally.
  • The investment cannot be in a speculative or inactive company, it does not qualify. The investment must be in a company with real operation.

Process to follow.: One must identify the E-2 investment, create a business plan, and take the steps to make the substantial investment required to apply for the E-2 visa.

As an investor, you can acquire an existing business, for which the investment required by the E-2 visa will be the amount of the business purchase. If you want to start a new business, the investment amount would be the capital invested to establish the new business and start operating such business.

Although the E-2 Visa does not require you to have a physical business space per se, showing evidence of an existing office space, such as through an executed lease, will help solidify the applicant’s case for obtaining the visa. The US government wants to see that you have a credible and sustainable business or planned investment, which a secured physical space (not virtual or residential) helps to prove

L1 Visa

If you are not a member of a treaty country and cannot immigrate with an E2 visa, and if you lack the substantial capital to invest with an EB5 visa, then an L1 visa may be your best bet.

An L1 visa allows for you to work for your company here in the United States. To be eligible for an L1 visa, you must currently be working for a company outside of the United States and seek to be transferred to America in a managerial position. The new United States business does not need to be a direct extension of the business abroad, but must be affiliated in some way. We can help ensure that these qualifications are met and continued throughout the L1 process.

One main advantage of an L1 visa is that an employing business can eventually sponsor the visa holder for their permanent residence in the United States. Additionally, spouses of L1 visa holders can receive work authorization to be employed in the United States while children can also attend school.

If you are an investor looking to make a more substantial investment in the United States, then an EB5 visa may be your best choice. An EB5 visa allows you to automatically adjust your status to a permanent resident after two years. For more information, see our section on EB5 visas.