Hello, everybody. In this video, we'll talk about the top
five reasons why you should apply for the E2 investor visa,
and how it can benefit you. We'll cover what the E2 visa is all about, and the main benefits
of applying for this visa in 2021. So, what are you waiting for? I’ll see you on the other side.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to our Immigration channel. This is a place where
you get the most up-to-date, immigration news, immigration information, and everything else
that you need to make your immigration journey less stressful. My name is Jacob Sapochnick, and
I'm an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California, and I help clients in all 50 states.
And if you’re here for the first time, make sure to subscribe to our channel,
click the notification bell so you don't miss any of our videos. And also, give us a big like
so YouTube will be able to share this video with more people just like you. So, let's talk about
the E2 visa. We're getting quite a few messages and questions about the E2 visa. Are there any big
changes? Why would I apply for the E2 visa? And actually, how does it really work? So, the E2 visa
is also known as the investor visa. The E2 visa is an investor visa, and that will allow an
entrepreneur or business owner or anybody who wants to start a business in the United States
with a specific amount of money, which is not defined by law. But it will depend on the kind of
business that the person is interested in starting to come to the United States and essentially
settle here and start a business. So, it's an amazing visa. And I'm going to go over the five
main reasons why the E2 visa could be the right visa for you. So, let's jump into reason number
one. You can legally work in your own business that you started, or a business that you purchased
in the United States for as long as you operate the business. This is a major advantage because
most work visas require a job offer. So, you need an employer that will sponsor you. It really is
not up to you. You have to convince the employer to give you the job offer. You have to convince an
employer to actually sponsor you for a visa. When you have an E2 visa, you control your destiny, you
build a business, you start a business, and you are responsible for your own work visa. You also
have to show that you're going to be developing and directing the business by at least controlling
50% of your business and have significant managerial control in your business. In
addition to that, the investment that you put in the business cannot be marginal in the sense that
you actually have to operate a real and viable business. The second reason why the E2 visa is
a perfect visa for you is that there is no minimum amount of investment. What does it mean? It means
that the government doesn't specify a minimum or maximum amount of investment for the E2 visa,
however, the investment must be substantial enough for the kind of business that you operate. And you
can just withdraw the money that you invest in your business after you file for the E2 visa.
Let's go over what substantial investment means in terms of the E2 visa. What that means is that
the capital investment must be proportionate to the kind of business that you operate. While we
typically recommend our investors to invest at least $100,000 when they start an E2 visa,
we've seen cases that were approved with less than $50,000 as well. But again, if you want
to be able to convince the consular officer, that you're coming to start a real business,
it's definitely important to show that you have some money to start the business, that you have
some money to invest, and also, that you're never going to be depending on this business to live in
the United States. That investment stands on its own. Number three, the E2 visa will allow your
spouse if you're married, to obtain a work permit, and if you have children under the age of 21,
those children are going to be able to live in the United States and attend school as well. Spouses
of E2 visa holders are allowed to apply for EAD work authorization to work in the United States.
Once the E2 visa is approved by the principal applicant, the E2 visa spouse will be eligible.
Number four, the E2 visa holder can travel freely inside and outside the United States. So,
once you obtain an E2 visa in the passport if you apply for the E2 visa at the US Embassy,
you now have a visa and multiple entry visas. You will be able to go in and out of the United States
freely. There are no restrictions... on the work permit as long as the principal E2 visa
holder has the business and continues to operate the business. Number four,
the E2 visa holder can travel freely inside and outside the United States. So,
once you obtain an E2 visa in the passport, if you apply for the E2 visa at the US Embassy,
you now have visa a multiple entry visa you will be able to go in and out of red states
freely. There are no restrictions. The only caveat is that some people apply for the E2 visa
as a change of status. So, you have the right to apply for it directly with the US Embassy
without going through US Immigration at all. Or if you come as a tourist,
or as a student, or in any other non-immigrant status, you're eligible to change your status
to the E2. But if you do that, you only get a two-year status to live and work in the United
States. But if you apply for the visa at the embassy, you now have a free right to go back and
forth, and conduct your business internationally, if that's the nature of your business as well.
The other advantage of this free movement of the E2 is that if you get an E2 visa,
you're not required to stay in the United States for the whole time. The rules of the E2 visa do
not limit you as to how long you have to spend in the United States once you get the E2 visa. So,
for example, the E2 visa clients that run a real estate E2 visa company, management company. So,
these investors are not always inside the United States. They live here for a few months.
They have their business, they operate, but then they have operations overseas as well. So, they're
not limited to staying in the United States for a certain amount of time. They can be all over
a little bit, they can get their social security number, they can run their businesses, but they're
not stuck living in the United States if they don't have to, or if they don't want to. So,
it's a great advantage of the E2 visa, unlike many other non-immigrant visas that require you to live
here a certain amount of time, otherwise, you may not be eligible anymore for the visa. Number five,
you can stay in E2 status indefinitely. What does it mean? S, like for example, the H1B visa
that expires after six years max. The L1 visa, after seven years. The O1 visa, their capital,
maybe in five years. The E2 visa can be renewed indefinitely. As long as you have a business,
as long as you continue to expand and build your business, you're going to be able to
continue and renew your E2 visa indefinitely. This is amazing because there are many investors
that are interested in getting a green card for whatever reasons, maybe for tax purposes,
or just that they have no interest in becoming US residents. They're able to stay on the E2 visa for
10, 15, sometimes 20 years. Now, we have a client that operates an E2 visa right here in California.
And they've had the E2 visa for 15 years, they received the visa in five years increments in your
passport. And they've been renewing it for the past 15 years. So, it's possible. So, it's another
amazing advantage of the E2 visa. As you can see, it's highly flexible and very adaptable to so many
people that want to use it as their option to live in the United States, but not necessarily
become green card holders, or turn it into a more permanent solution to live in the United States.
In conclusion, the E2 visa is a very flexible visa and maybe a great opportunity for a lot of
people that just want to come here, be able to start a business, move their family over here,
but they have no other ways of doing it. Now, for those people that want to actually get a green
card from the E2, there are other ways and we've got some videos that talk about that. And I’ll
maybe do an updated video as to how to convert the E2 to a green card in 2021. Once again,
thanks for watching. If you have any questions, make sure you leave them in the comments below.
If you want to set up a consultation with me and discuss your plans to move to the United
States and maybe start a business or get the E2 visa, make sure you text me at 619-483-4549
and I look forward to helping you as well. Thanks for watching and I'll see you on the next video.