In this video, we're going to tackle one of the most common questions I get about the
E2 visa. How do we renew it? Yes, it's already hard enough to get it the first time but how
do we renew it? What do we need to get an E2 visa renewed? So many questions, so much
confusion. We'll talk about everything in this video. Stay tuned. Hi, everybody. My
name is Jacob Sapochnick and I'm an immigration attorney specializing in E2 visas based in
San Diego, California. In this video, we'll talk about the E2 visa but more specifically,
how do we renew an E2 visa? What does it take? What are they looking for to get an E2 visa
renewed? Before that, I ask you, if you’re here for the first time, please subscribe
to my channel. Give us a big like and share this video with somebody that may be in need
or interested to learn that information. Also, follow us on Instagram. And leave me a comment,
let me know what you think or give us suggestions for other videos on this topic or other topics
about immigration. We try to do videos every single week. So, let's talk about the E visa.
We've done so many, so many videos about the E2 visa. From the source of funds to different
businesses that can qualify. But in this video, I want to talk about the renewal. As you know,
most people can get an E visa for two years up to five years at a time. But what do you
do after that time runs out? How do you renew it? Remember that to get an E2 visa, you must
go through certain criteria already. You have to show that the business is not marginal.
You have to prove the source of funds. You have to show that you're going to be intending
to hire employees by getting a five-year business plan and all that stuff. We talked about it
before, what are they looking for when you renew the E2 visa? Well, first of all, it's
really important that you try to follow the original path of your business plan. If not,
your renewal essentially becomes like a new application. I give you an example, one of
our clients started a restaurant. But after two years, they realized that they don't want
to do a restaurant, it's not working, it's losing money. Their true passion is photography.
So, they wanted to move their investment, or take the profits or whatever they had,
and start a photography studio. So, when the time came, so typically, three years into
the restaurant, I told them, if you're never going to run the restaurant, we need to file
for a new E2. We’re not going to wait for the full term of the five years because then
you're essentially going to be out of status. Because if you're not making money, if you're
not working in your E2 business, you're violating your status. So, we essentially stopped, refiled,
essentially, a new application and they got their E2 visa. So, this is somebody who cannot
finish the term of the E2 visa for many reasons like the business is not doing well or they
want to do something else. If your business is doing well, and you're able to finish your
term, whether it's two years or five years, well, the government is going to be looking
for several things. First thing, they want to see growth. They want to see that if you
start with one employee, you now have at least a few employees. Again, we have to follow
the business plan. If you told them you're going to have five employees, and you only
have three, that’s still okay. But if you told them you're going to have 20 employees,
and you only have three, that's not good. We have to be realistic in terms of our business
plan. The second thing we're looking for are revenues. Is this business making money or
it's losing money? After five years, if you continue to lose money, that's not going to
look good for any consular officer, most likely, you're not going to get your visa. Some clients
that I've seen who come to me for renewals from other attorneys or themselves, they operated
from their home the entire first term. If your business is not doing well, you may have
to inject more money into it. I had a case recently of a bakery, where the company was
doing okay, they had the employees based on the projections but they were not really doing
well, they're breaking even after five years and sometimes losing certain months. So, I
advised them, for us to be able to renew it, we want to show another cash injection into
the business, another investment to show the government they have plans, they know how
they're going to improve this business, and they know how to show growth by injecting
some more financial investment. So, again, when you’re renewing an E2 visa, it is really
important to understand what is the goal of that renewal? Because if you're getting another
five years, what is the exit strategy after that? Are you going to be continuing the business
and keep renewing it? Or are you thinking about a green card? We have clients that have
been on the E2 for 15 years and they're fine. And then after that, they get a green card.
I had another video that I've done, explaining that if you're a successful entrepreneur,
if you continue to show growth in your business, you may be able to apply for a National Interest
Waiver to get a green card that way as well. It's important to think, what are the goals
of that renewal. But to get a successful renewal on the E2, it's also important to know where
you’re at, are you going to do it from inside the US. So, some people that are here in the
US, after five years on a visa, and they want to do the renewal here, they want to do it
as a change of status, as an extension of stay. The USCIS and the US Embassy are looking
at things differently. The USCIS has become really strict right now. They issue long requests
for evidence for people that renew their E2s. They want to see the business plan, they want
to look at comparisons, they want to see employees, it's getting really difficult to get E2 renewed
inside the US. I really recommend clients, if they can, to apply for the visa renewal
at the US Embassy, originally where they got their visa if it's at all possible. And the
reason is because when you go back to the embassy, you tell them that, “Yeah, you
gave me a visa for five years. Now, I’m back to renew it,” to some sort of respect
and some sort of a procedural policy that is being respected here as well. But also,
if you extend your E2 inside the US, you're not going to be able to travel during those
two years, you only get an extension for two years, if you do it from inside the US. If
you do an extension in your home country, if you go in five years visa in the first
place, you may be able to get an extension for another five years. So, those are some
considerations to think in terms of renewal. Think of growth financially, think of employees,
think of additional cash injections, if needed. Think of, is your business doing well? Do
you really like what you're doing or you want to do something else? And there is a way to
do so by changing the purpose of the business and applying, essentially, for a new E2 visa.
What you don't want to do is have a visa for five years and not work in your business,
and do something else because by doing so, you're breaking the law, and you’re violating
your status in the US. That's going to be very difficult to fix in the future if you
go to an embassy interview or try to get a different visa. So, hopefully, this information
was helpful for you. Let me know in the comments below, give us a like, and share this video
with somebody who may need this information. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you in
our next video.